Chinese developers get approval to buy land for Australia's first integrated resort

Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board has approved an application by the Chinese-backed Aquis group to buy 340 hectares of land at Yorkeys Knob near Cairns.

Backed by Hong Kong billionaire Henry Fung, Aquis plans to build Great Barrier Reef Resort, Australia's first integrated resort, which will include nine luxury hotels, with 3,750 rooms, 1,180 apartments and 130 villas; a 25,000-seater sports stadium; a waterpark; a convention and exhibition centre; an 18-hole golf course; two 2,500-seat theatres, a 20 hectare reef lagoon; one of the largest aquariums in the world; a casino and high-end retail space.

Having signed a $269 million takeover bid agreement last week with the Reef Casino Trust, which owns the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns, Aquis hopes to extend the Reef Casino licence to include the $4.2 billion integrated resort.

It has also applied for one of two new regional Queensland casino licences on offer by the Queensland Government.

If approved, construction of the resort is expected to begin later this year, with a completion date of around 2018.

The development would create 9,300 jobs in the construction phase and 10,000 full-time jobs when operational.

According to the project overview, KPMG have modelled the financial benefits of the resort to show the resort as a vital element in the future prosperity and economic sustainability of Far North Queensland.

However, given the Great Barrier Reef's status as a World Heritage Site, environmental groups are concerned at the damage that the development could cause.

The development is seen as a precursor to a wave of Asian investment in the Queensland tourism industry.

21st August 2013 - HONG KONG BILLIONAIRE CALLS FOR COMMUNITY BACKING FOR $4 BILLION INTEGRATED RESORT IN CAIRNS