As revealed several days ago by the government responsible for Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan, the prefecture’s officials are still intent on launching the RFP or request for the proposal stage of its already devised plan which revolves around securing one of coming Japanese trio of fully integrated casino resort licenses. This came to many as a surprise considering the ravaging coronavirus crisis which was especially prominent in Asia in the past two months.

According to recent reports by Inside Asian Gaming and GGRAsia, this revelation by the government for Nagasaki Prefecture means that this Japanese jurisdiction of over 1.3 million residents has not made any alterations or changes to its original plan and schedule despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The nation’s plan to launch the request for proposal stage for its fully integrated casino resort plan licensing has not been affected by a Prime Minister’s decision to place all seven affected Japanese communities into emergency lockdowns for at least one month.

The Month-Long Lockdowns of Seven Communities

Even though Nagasaki Prefecture and its 1.3 million residents have not been included in those emergency lockdowns of seven Japanese communities affected by the coronavirus crisis, the decision made it significantly more difficult for Nagasaki Prefecture’s officials to travel across the country and to hold business meetings with operating partners and other interested clients. On the other hand, several big Japanese cities were included in the nation’s coronavirus-related emergency lockdowns and these include Hyogo, Kanagawa, Fukuoka, Saitama, Osaka, Chiba, and Tokyo.

As reported by GGRAsia, Nagasaki Prefecture is hoping to be given all necessary official permissions and licenses to construct and operate a Las Vegas-style gambling-friendly resort. According to the prefecture’s already devised plans, this fully integrated casino resort is planned for a seventy-acre parcel which is located near Huis Ten Bosch theme park near the city of Sasebo.

Nagasaki Prefecture launched its RFC or initial request for the concept of its fully integrated casino resort plan back in September. At the moment, the officials for Nagasaki Prefecture anticipate finally moving onto the following, a more formal request for proposal or RFP stage in the following months before the summer starts.

Nagasaki Prefecture Releasing an Updated Basic Concept Plan

As Nagasaki Prefecture’s officials wait for the next steps and as they prepare, they have released an updated variant of its fully integrated casino resort basic concept plan. The updated version of the plan was released a couple of days ago and this version more clearly lays out what the prefecture expects from interested foreign casino operators which are interested in constructing and potentially running the proposed fully integrated casino resort for Nagasaki Prefecture.

This revised basic concept plan features seventy-three pages and it pronounces that such a gambling-friendly development could bring a massive economic ripple effect for the whole community worth around $3.85 billion. The seventy-three-page document also pronounces that such a gambling facility could lead to great new working opportunities and full-time jobs for over 360,000 local residents.

Furthermore, the revised document also reveals that the planned fully integrated casino resort for Nagasaki Prefecture could open its doors to the public in 2025 and in the meantime provide around 840,000 temporary construction jobs. The updated version of the basic concept plan for the planned gambling-friendly venue also reveals that the entire project would cost around $3.2 and $4.2 billion with yearly customer numbers reaching 9.3 million.