Hanwha E&C to finish construction of part of Incheon resort by next year

Industry

Published: 16 Jun. 2022, 15:26 Updated: 16 Jun. 2022, 16:52

Hanwha E&C to finish construction of part of Incheon resort by next year

From fourth from left: Mohegan CEO Ray Pineault, Mohegan Chairman James Gessner and Hanwha Engineering & Construction Vice Chairman Choi Kwang-ho pose for a photo on Wednesday to discuss progress in construction of Inspire Entertainment Resort. [HANWHA ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION]

Hanwha Engineering & Construction (E&C) will finish construction and help open part of the Inspire Entertainment Resort on Yeongjong Island, Incheon, in 2023.

Hanwha E&C announced it met with the chairman and CEO of Mohegan, a Connecticut-based resort developer, on Wednesday to discuss progress of construction and methods to attract international travelers when the resort opens.

Mohegan wholly owns Mohegan, a company of the same name in Korea, which signed a deal with Hanwha E&C in December last year to build Inspire Entertainment Resort for 1.8 trillion won ($1.4 billion). The subsidiary will be the company operating the resort.

Construction for the resort will take place in four phases and Hanwha E&C will build facilities for part of the first phase. Builders for the final three phases have not been chosen yet.

According to Hanwha E&C, about 20 percent of construction of the first phase has been completed. It is currently finishing the frame construction of major venues and building the curtain wall, the exterior of the buildings which are usually made of glass.

The first phase includes a 1,275-room hotel, 15,000-seat performance hall, foreigners-only casino, indoor water park and shopping mall. The performance hall will be used to hold various concerts of K-pop artists, aiming to attract overseas fans.

“We will carry out construction of the Inspire Entertainment Resort, the biggest of the kind in Northeast Asia, as planned, making it a global landmark,” said Choi Kwang-ho, vice chairman of Hanwha E&C. “We will do our best to vitalize the economy of Yeongjong Island and the overall Incheon area, and also contribute to the growth of Korea’s tourism industry.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]