The boss for the Japanese subsidiary of giant American casino operator, MGM Resorts International, has reportedly revealed that his firm will be submitting an official proposal in hopes of winning the right to develop and run an integrated casino resort for the city of Osaka.

Looming limit:

According to a report from GGRAsia, the Monday disclosure from Ed Bowers, Chief Executive Officer for MGM Resorts Japan, came after Japan’s third-largest metropolis launched the initial request-for-concept (RFC) portion of its application process late last month featuring a May 24 deadline.

Federal authorization:

Japan ratified legislation in late-July that is due to see the federal government award three distinct communities with licenses to open and run a single Las Vegas-style integrated casino resort featuring multiple hotels, shops and conference spaces. In order to secure permission to host one of these multi-billion-dollar facilities, candidate localities are being required to team up with private-sector partners in order to submit concrete development proposals featuring funding, design and service particulars.

Island plans:

Osaka is a city of over twelve million people and it is reportedly hoping that its plan to utilize 121 acres of reclaimed land on Yumeshima Island as the site for its envisioned integrated casino resort will attract interest from a number of international operators. This scheme for the man-made island in Osaka Bay is known to have already aroused the attention of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited and Las Vegas Sands Corporation although MGM is the first to have publicly stated that it will be lodging an official proposal.

Local partnership:

GGRAsia reported that the application from MGM Resorts International’s Japanese subordinate is being prepared in partnership with local financial services firm Orix Corporation, which inked a deal in late-March that could see the pair agree to spend upwards of $10 billion in hopes of being granted the right to bring a Western-style integrated casino resorts to Osaka.

Specific conditions:

An earlier report from detailed that Osaka is expecting every RFC proposal to follow an earlier federal government ordinance by including a number of core specifications such as the size and scale of any planned development’s hotel, convention and exhibition facilities. In addition, it explained that Tokyo had previously declared that it would only be prepared to award integrated casino resort licenses to those facilities that can attract international tourists to the wider region and feature a unique attraction that promotes local culture.

Protracted process:

Following the conclusion of the initial RFC stage of its application process, Osaka reportedly plans to give interested parties until the end of August to submit their official development plans. This is due to be proceeded by two months of public discussions before local tourism officials unveil their ‘basic policy’ requirements.

The giant Japanese city intends to initiate the official request-for-proposal (RFP) phase of its selection process only after all of these preliminary stages have been completed in hopes of being able to unveil the identity of its preferred private-sector partner sometime early in 2020.