By Chris Williams-
Cyprus signed a deal on Monday with Macau’s Melco International for the biggest casino in the world.
The casino resort , estimated to cost 600 million euros ($672 million) will be the first in the internationally recognised south of the Mediterranean holiday island, the eye of media.com have heard.
Casinos are a huge money spinning business, with businessmen and ordinary spenders alike speding large amounts of money in the hope of multiplying their money many times over. Commerce and Tourism Minister, George Lakkotrypis, told the eye of media.com
“This is absolutely amazing for Cyprus, and a grand initiative which will yield huge returns. It opens the road to realising one of the largest infrastructure projects that has ever been done in our country.”
“In addition, the casino resort will include the largest casino in Europe, with 136 gaming tables and 1,200 gaming machines,” Lakkotrypis said at the signing ceremony in Nicosia, he said.
LARGEST
The complex will be the largest integrated casino in Europe with 500 hotel rooms and other facilities spanning more than 6,000 square metres (64,580 square feet).
The consortium has a 30-year licence to build an integrated casino resort in the southern coastal town of Limassol and set up four satellite casinos in other towns.
Its operations will start from 2017, but no timeframe has been set for the main resort to open for business.
Many casinos exist in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island, recognised by Turkey aloneGreek Orthodox Churches have long opposed the spread of those casinos to the south, citing the harmful effects of gambling.
RECOVERY
However, the current government plans to use the anticipated proceeds from the casino to stimulate the island’s recovering eurozone economy with the creation of nearly 4,000 jobs to build it with an expected revenue of 100 m euros per annum.
A super casino is also expected to boost an extra 300,000 tourists a year, boosting the three million new arrivals.
European Union member Cyprus plunged into a financial crisis in 2013, leaving a number of its top banks insolvent and requiring rescue from international creditors.
Austerity measures were eventually used in exchange for a loan of 10 billion euros (then $13 billion) from the International Monetary Fund and the EU.
The Cypriot economy grew by 2.8 percent in 2016 and a similar growth rate is expected for this year, buoyed by an anticipated increase in tourism revenue