Fung says “difficult decisions” may be needed on Aquis project

Thursday 27th of November 2014

Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung has said “some difficult decisions” may need to be taken regarding the group’s plan for an A$8.15 billion ($7 billion) integrated resort near Cairns, Australia, after an attempt to takeover a local casino failed.

In an open letter to the local community in the Queensland town, Fung said the failure to buy Reef Casino Trust will trigger a comprehensive review of its strategy for the Aquis Barrier Reef resort.

“While undertaking the review we will continue to push forward with a number of regulatory hurdles including finalising our Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),” the letter said.

“It is also worth noting that we recently signed an extension of our option over the core site at Yorkeys Knob. The extension reflects our commitment to push ahead with AQUIS but also acknowledges the increasing complexity and difficulty of the approvals process and the fact we may need some more time than first anticipated.”

Despite the problems, Fung said he remained committed to developing the project, which will be one of the world’s largest hotels and casino complexes.

Fung had said that the takeover of RCT had been an essential part of his project. As an established business it would have helped support the development of Aquis in the early stages.

The transaction fell through after Fung failed to gain regulatory approval by his November 28th deadline.