Federal authorities take control Primorye zone

Sunday 2nd of July 2017

Control over Russia's gambling zone in Primorye has been passed from the local government to the federal government over concerns the region is developing too slowly, according to reports.

Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev reportedly made the comment to TASS in Macau last week.

"The gaming zone in Primorye is developing slowly, and we recently held a meeting during which we decided to file lawsuits against four out of two investors [in the zone] to request their agreements to be terminated because they do not do anything there," he explained.

According to Trutnev, one of the investors - Melco [working as G1 Entertainment] - has already built a hotel, albeit, a small one, and has been slow in implementing the second phase of the project.

Another company - NagaCorp, has also delayed the start of construction works due to the need to conduct archeological excavations on the site. "Now they are assuring us that they will begin work this year and quickly implement the project," Trutnev explained.

"Thus, we have land lots for three additional residents [in the zone], with one land lot remaining unallocated and two others to be retrieved. We know that there is interest in them both among already existing investors and other investors on the territory of the Russian Federation," he said.

He also said that he would like globally renowned companies with vast experience to compete for the project.

"Today's trip is a 'road show' during which we talk about a new stage in the project's implementation, we will take it under federal patronage," Trutnev told TASS.

Although Trutnev did not specify the investors facing legal action, a month ago a contract with the Russian company Royal Time Primorye was discontinued by a court decision, while the fourth and the last investor - Diamond Fortune Holdings Prim - had recently started the construction of an entertainment complex with a casino.

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