Echo Entertainment Group has won the right to develop a gambling resort in the centre of Brisbane, Australia.
The operator beat rival Crown Resorts, which allowed the company to keep its two-decade casino monopoly in the city. Queensland state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a media conference that Echo and its consortium, which includes Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, has been chosen to develop a resort on the riverfront site which could cost as much as $1.5bn.
“This development will change Brisbane’s CBD,” she said. “I am very excited about the proposal and the project and we know what this means for Brisbane, making it a premium tourist destination.”
Echo’s Destination Brisbane Consortium says the project will create around 8,000 new jobs, with work on the site expected to begin in 2017.
Echo currently runs Sydney’s The Star, Jupiters on the Gold Coast and adjacent Treasury Casino in Brisbane. The precinct is currently home to a number of government buildings which will be knocked down to make way for five hotels, 2,500 apartments and more than 50 bars and restaurants.
