Nagasaki prefecture has told Inside Asian Gaming it has no intention of changing its schedule for an IR bid, despite both Osaka and Yokohama recently announcing delays as they turn their focus to COVID-19.
The prefecture unveiled its Kyushu/Nagasaki Basic Plan and Kyushu/Nagasaki Specified Complex Tourist Facilities Development Implementation Policy draft on 6 April.
Speaking with IAG this week, a prefectural official, “The state will accept applications (for IR development plans) from January to July 2021, and we are not considering changing our schedule at this time.”
Further, considering that the publication of the country’s basic policy is delayed and there have been changes to the national policy due to COVID-19, the official explained, “We will proceed in accordance with the national schedule when the national policy is released. We will keep in close contact with state officials as we proceed with the bid.”
Regarding the implementation policy draft announced by the prefecture, he added, “When the government releases its basic policy, we will correct any conflicts with the prefecture’s draft implementation policy and if there are no problems, we will proceed with implementation at the prefectural level.”
Osaka had initially intended to request proposals from operators up to the end of April but has decided to postpone this to the end of July upon discussion with MGM Resorts due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Yokohama city has also decided to postpone the announcement of its implementation policy for two months from June to August.
