Tower Holdings eyes casino license for Australian island

Friday 28th of November 2014

Tower Holdings is still interested in pursuing a $2 billion integrated resort project on Great Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia, should one of the two short-listed bidders for licenses in the state drop out.

The resort would feature a 250-room luxury beachfront hotel, 300 apartments, a 250-berth marina, a retail village, an 18-hole golf course and a 575 hectare Environmental Protection Area, The Australian Business Review cited Chairman Terry Agnew as saying.

“There is no denying that it is difficult to finance the development of a new five-star hotel in Queensland. However, the government’s decision to potentially offer new gaming licences was a very good initiative to assist in this financing,” Agnew told the newspaper. “Should the government, or the proponents of the two short-listed Integrated Resort Developments, decide not to proceed with applications for a gaming licence, Tower Holdings would be very keen to take up this opportunity.”

Construction of a resort on Great Keppel Island could be under way within six months of the issuing of a casino licence, he said.

The Queensland government is offering three new casino licenses -- one to redevelop the Queen’s Wharf in downtown Brisbane and two regional licenses. Asian consortium ASF and Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung’s Aquis were short-listed for the regional licenses, though Fung’s project has been thrown into doubt by the failure to complete a separate transaction.

Aquis had sought to buy Reef Casino Trust to help provide cash flow to fund an $8.15 billion ($7 billion) integrated resort at Yorkeys Knob. It fell through after regulators failed to meet a Nov. 28th deadline to issue necessary approvals.