Hong Kong billionaire calls for community backing for $4 billion integrated resort in Cairns

With Hong Kong billionaire Henry Fung having revealed further details of his planned $4 billion Aquis Great Barrier Reef Resort for a site north of Cairns, the tourism investor is urging the community to back the integrated resort plan project through the planning process.

Speaking to The Cairns Post, Fung advised that he was relying on local support for the project, stating "it will not happen without the overwhelming support of the local community."

The project is advancing with a permanent office being set up in Cairns CBD while the Queensland Government environmental impact statement process is already under way.

Meanwhile, Cairns Regional Council has voted unanimously to seek outside help for approval of the massive development application when it is lodged.

Plans for the 343-hectare site at Yorkeys Knob just north of Cairns airport 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.

If approved, construction would begin next 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 Reefs 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.

http://aquisgreatbarrierreefresort.com/