James Packer loses bid for Brisbane casino to Echo Entertainment

James Packer’s Crown confirmed last night it has not been selected as the preferred proponent for the project which has been touted to change Brisbane’s CBD.

The consortium, made up of Echo Entertainment Group, Far East Consortium and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, was announced as the bid victor on Monday afternoon by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Destination Brisbane previously estimated their precinct would generate at least 8,000 new jobs for Queensland.

But the state favored the Far East-Chow Tai Fook- Echo consortium for a design of substantial public space in their proposal.

The proposal from Echo for the new Brisbane casino resort includes an iconic arc-shaped building with a ballroom, publicly accessible sky deck, 50 restaurants and bars and a moonlight cinema.

Also “The consortium was able to demonstrate to government that they are ready to proceed”.

“The LNP former government did start this process, but it is my government that is delivering and we will make sure that there is rigorous oversight with the construction going forward and we’ll make sure that there are a lot of opportunities for Queenslanders to get jobs in this integrated resort development”, she said.

Construction is due to begin by late 2016 and is likely to be completed by 2022, according to media reports. All three will provide capital to develop the resort, with their contributions matching their stakes.

Meanwhile, revenue from the wealthiest clients at Crown’s flagship casino in the Australian city of Melbourne and at Echo’s casino on Sydney’s waterfront, The Star, has hit record levels as Chinese visitor numbers grow rapidly.

Anthony Lynham, the Minister for the State Development, also commented on the matter and said that the construction of the resort is to commence sometime in 2017.

The company’s shares swung upwards in recent weeks, with investors confident the company had won the Queensland casino battle, having lost to Crown at Sydney’s Barangaroo.

The project is a wager that rising spending in Australia’s casinos can absorb as many as three new major resorts over the next five years, as an anti-graft crackdown in China drives Macau gamblers elsewhere in the region.

The project will have luxury hotels, including one under the Ritz-Carlton brand and one under the Rosewood brand; residential apartment towers; luxury shopping; and public spaces along the Queen’s Wharf’s dock.