Mohegan Sun-KCC get rights to build casino

The government has granted the right to open a resort complex on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, to a consortium led by the U.S. casino giant Mohegan Sun.

The complex is scheduled to open by 2020 and will include hotels, convention centers and a casino.

The consortium, known as Inspire Integrated Resort, also includes Korean conglomerate KCC and Incheon International Airport.

Mohegan Sun will control 70 percent of the joint venture, while KCC will control 30 percent. Incheon International Airport will maintain rights over the land.

The government initially pledged to give licenses to two regions to build new resorts. South Gyeongsang, South Jeolla and Incheon all applied, but only Incheon was given permission.

“We hope to develop Incheon into a so-called airport city, making it a mecca of tourism by fostering the service industry near the airport,” said Chung Il-young, the new CEO of Incheon International Airport.

The new resort will open in the international business district of Yeongjong Island. The consortium will invest about 1.8 trillion won ($1.46 billion) to build up a lot sized about 1 million square meters (640 million acres). Boutique hotels, conference centers, a shopping mall, a theme park and a foreigners-only casino are all in the works.

Incheon hopes to attract 2.3 million additional tourists in the first two decades of the complex opening by getting them to transfer flights in Korea instead of Japan or China.

In addition to Mohegan Sun’s complex, two more are slated to open on Yeongjong Island. Paradise City is set to open in April 2017, while LOCZ Korea will open in 2018.

The city forecasts that Mohegan Sun’s complex will help create some 7,000 new jobs by 2020 and generate tax revenue worth 6.3 trillion won in its first two decades open.

BY KIM JI-YOON [kim.jiyoon@joongang.co.kr]