BCN World is a large resort complex to be built in Catalonia, an area of Spain, that will include entertainment as well as leisure activities. Three well-known companies have now shown interest in the project, with a bond of €2.5m deposited by Peralada, Melco and Hard Rock as a commitment to buy land connected to the project. The land will be used for casinos, hotels and retail space.

The three companies sent representatives to meet with the President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont as well as the Vice President Oriol Junqueras and additional members of the Catalonian government to come to an agreement so the project can move forward. The agreement sees the government guaranteeing that the companies who bid will have the land available to them and the right to make the purchase once approval has been given to the Urban-Development Master Plan. Approval is expected by this November.

Potential operators for the BCN World project have been given more time to present project ideas, with 90 days now offered instead of the original 30. Josep Rull is the Minister for Land and Sustainability, who confirmed that the meeting took place and that the deposits were made by the operators, each showing a solid commitment to the project. The winning bid will see their deposit used during development and the losing bids will have their deposit returned.

Last summer, the Veremonte Group decided to withdraw from the BCN World project which caused the government of Catalonia to move in. The government had to come to an agreement with the La Caixa Bank to secure the rights to purchase 500 hectares of land that would be used for the project. The Catalan Land Institute now owns the land and the new agreements state the winning bidder has the right to buy the land once chosen.

Hard Rock and Melco would both like to operate a casino as part of BCN World while the Peralada Group is working with the Genting Group to be the only operator to have the rights to offer a large scale casino as part of the project.