In Spain, local officials have reportedly approved the development master plan for the proposed Tourist And Recreation Complex near Barcelona following the completion of a six-month public consultation period.

Formerly known as BCN World, the massive development due to be located around 60 miles south of the Catalonian capital city could now house up to two casinos with Melco Crown Entertainment Limited reportedly competing with Hard Rock International for one such gambling license while the second is being coveted by local firm Grupo Peralada in partnership with Malaysian giant Genting Group.

According to a report from G3Newswire, Catalonia is already the home of four casinos while the potential Tourist And Recreation Complex gambling operators, which have been required to deposit bonds each worth around $2.6 million, are now set to be given up to three months to present their final development proposals.

G3Newswire cited Josep Rull, Territory And Sustainability Minister for the autonomous region, as stating that a number of infrastructure and environmental changes had been made to the original plan for the Tourist And Recreation Complex with the latest version addressing the majority of issues brought to the government’s attention by local institutions and councils.

Construction of the Tourist And Recreation Complex is reportedly scheduled to start in the summer with Oriol Junqueras, the autonomous region’s Vice-President, revealing that approximately $2.6 billion will be spent on the entire project although gaming activities are to occupy only 4% of the total floor space.

The Catalonian government has moreover released the results of an economic study into the coming Tourist And Recreation Complex conducted by the Universidad Rovila I Virgili De Tarragona. The examination reportedly found that the development could create some 12,000 direct jobs and see up to five million new tourists visiting the area by 2019 contributing an extra $1.2 billion a year into the local economy.