Mohegan Gaming’s project in Incheon, South Korea is on track, with phase one launching in 2022 as planned despite the growing worldwide coronavirus epidemic.
Mohegan’s Project in Incheon Going According to Plan
Mohegan Gaming’s mind-blowing project in Incheon, South Korea is moving forward as planned. CEO Mario Kontomerkos of Mohegan Gaming commented:
Work continues and we are working toward our 2022 goal”.
Although the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak has caused some disruptions, the multi-billion project is on track and its first phase is due to be completed in 2022.
The US operator’s new investment is due to be completed in 4 phases, the first of which is due to be finished in 2022 and the last planned for 2031. The overall investment by Mohegan Gaming is priced at $5 billion. The project is also known as Inspire Entertainment Resort and it will include a high-end resort with a casino. Mohegan chose a key location – Incheon, which is a major transportation hub near the country’s capital, Seoul.
The Inspire Project Stages
Korea Times report from last year notes that the first phase was due to be completed by the end of 2021. The timeline has been pushed back a little in light of recent developments. The main focus of the phase will be the building of a five-star hotel with more than 1,200 rooms, a big arena for sports events and concerts and a foreigner-only casino. The approximate cost for phase one is more than $1 billion.
Within the second phase of the project, an indoor theme park is planned to be built. It will be branded by Paramount Pictures and rumored to be the first of its kind for Asia. This stage is expected to be finished by 2025. The investment is planned to cost Mohegan above $1 billion, similar to stage one.
Clearly the US Operator Likes to Invest Big
Inspire Incheon is not Mohegan’s first project at such large scale. Inspire Athens was introduced last year. The operator entered the race but came out first out of two candidates, competing with antoher casino giant, Hard Rock International. The project for the casino resort near the Greek capital features a complete transformation of the former airport. This will include a top of the line hotel, convention center, pools, retail space as well as a casino with more than 1,000 slot machines and over 100 table games.
The massive investment by the US giant in Incheon is planned to create more than 10,000 work places. Last year Mohegan announced that the main contractor is planned to be Hanwha Corp. They are expected to manage HR, marketing, the hotel and resort as well as non-gaming facilities. Mohegan and Hanwha Corp. already signed a long-term agreement about Inspire. In the long-term, some 800,000 work places are expected as well as highly positive outcome due to the revenue, which is expected to amount to a hundred billion dollars within 30 years.