Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, a U.S.-based tribal casino operator, said it has appointed Hanwha, one of the largest U.S. companies, as the main contractors for a casino resort under development in South Korea.
The initiative, known as "inspire" (artist-painted), is located in Incheon, near the South Korean capital of Seoul, and is expected to begin in 2022, Mario Kontomercos, chairman and chief executive of Mohegan Gaming, said in a statement on Thursday.
"The project inspire in South Korea continues to be under construction and remains on track for its 2022 opening," Mr Contomercos said in comments included in the group's fourth-quarter accounting, which ended Sept. 30.
He added: "With regard to Inspire, we are delighted to announce a partnership with Hanwha, one of the largest conglomerates in Korea. Hanwha will serve as our primary comprehensive contractor and will also provide important local operational expertise and credit enhancements to this project."
A corporate presentation accompanying the results said Mohegan Gaming had entered into a "comprehensive partnership agreement" with Hanwha Group on three "core" areas to move the project forward.
In addition to Hanwha E&C being the general contractor, the group also provided what was described as a "completion guarantee" while providing $100 million in investment in the project. The group's Hanwha Hotels and Resorts also signed multi-year contracts to manage non-gaming services in its properties, including hotel and resort operations, Mohegan Gaming said.
Mohegan Gaming said Hanwha completed the construction of the foundation stake on Sept. 20 and acquired the Inspire construction site on Oct. 1.
According to the presentation deck, the first phase of Incheon Mohegan Gaming's casino resort project will include a five-star hotel with about 1,250 rooms, a 15,000-seat event arena, a convention center, and a foreigner-only casino with 150 gaming tables and 700 slots and electronic gaming machines. According to The Korea Times in November, Inspire's initial stage had a budget of 1.5 trillion won ($1.26 billion). 카지노사이트
A total of $5 billion in capital investment has been mentioned over several stages over the course of two decades. According to The Korea Times, the plan will be developed in four stages, with the final stage completed by 2031.
The so-called "Inspire Phase 1B" includes Paramount Pictures-branded indoor theme parks, which will be developed in collaboration with global producers and distributors of filming entertainment Paramount Pictures. Construction of that phase begins in 2021, and is expected to be completed by 2025.
On Thursday, Mohegan Gaming said its consolidated net income rose 19.2% year-over-year to $414.0 in the three months to September 30.
