Government seeking integrated resort interest
The Queensland Government is seeking to explore investor interest in an alternate regional integrated resort development following the withdrawal of Aquis’ proposal for a Cairns integrated resort.
The Department of State Development has developed an investors’ information package outlining the potential opportunities, and the parameters the Government would use to consider proposals. Any new regional Integrated Resort Development proposal must:
- include significant capital investment to create a development that attracts international tourists, where construction commences within 18 months of contractual close
- be located within close proximity to a major population centre with a catchment of at least 1,000 people within a 70 kilometre radius of the regional centre
- be near an operational international airport or an airport that is capable of being upgraded to international standards
- have well-established transport networks and significant existing tourism infrastructure with identified growth potential.
Following this search for potential investors, the Department will provide the Government with recommendations for further action, which will be considered in the new year.
The Government has indicated that a dozen different organisations have expressed an interest in developing an integrated resort development in regional Queensland over the last 18 months.