South Korea’s Saemangeum Development Corporation (SCDO), the company behind a massive 409-square kilometer economic hub land-reclamation project on the coast of the country’s Yellow Sea, is reportedly hoping to include an integrated resort with 3,600 hotel rooms and a foreigner-only casino in the development.
According to local publication Chosun Biz, there are hopes that the casino could also welcome local patrons, depending on national consensus and legal revisions.
At a press event on Tuesday, SDCO President Na Gyeong-gyun noted that the project “must have an anchor facility to spur tourism demand and investment.” The official indicated the group was in talks with foreign investors and large domestic corporations for facilities within the 3,600-room IR, including shopping, MICE facilities and a potential casino.
Whether locals would be able to enter the casino, the executive noted, “National consensus is needed, and it takes considerable time to push forward. The goal is not a casino itself but to build an integrated resort.”
The Saemangeum Project is promoted as an economic hub for Northeast Asia which will promote “industry, business and tourism on a vast area including the world’s longest sea wall” running from Gunsan to Buan. This involves some 291 square kilometers of reclaimed land, a 118 square kilometer lake and a new port outside the seawall.
The budget for the project is KRW22.2 trillion (US$15.72 billion), with KRW10.9 trillion (US$7.72 billion) put up by the central government, KRW900 million (US$637,250) by the local government and KRW10.3 trillion (US$7.29 billion) coming from “private investment.”
The project already envisages a “Leisure-Tourism Area” split between multiple islands connected by bridges, making up 12.7% of the project’s total area at 36.8 square kilometers. It is the nation’s largest-ever land reclamation project, with the newly created area to amount to two-thirds the size of Seoul and four times the size of Paris, according to the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency.
According to the project’s act, foreign investors injecting US$500 million or more in tourism projects could be granted a license to operate a foreigner-only casino, but this also requires approval from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The SDCO President indicated that foreign companies are already “showing interest in investing in a foreigner-only casino and an integrated resort,” while noting that “We are also in contact with a domestic large corporation that is planning a 3,600-room integrated resort.”
Company names or investment amounts, as well as the project timelines, were not disclosed.
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