Spain to get Las Vegas style development - Thursday 6th of December 2007
EUROPE is set to get its own version of Las Vegas in a desert region of eastern Spain where developers plan to build 32 hotel-casinos, two theme parks, a racecourse and stadium over the next decade.
The project, approved last week by the regional government of Aragon, also calls for the construction of residential areas, an equestrian centre and a golf course on just over 2,000 hectares of land in the Los Monegros desert.
Tentatively called "Gran Escala," which means large-scale, the development has a 17-billion-euro ($A28.47 billion) price tag that will be footed by International Leisure Development, a London-based consortium of investors.
The goal "is the construction of an integrated leisure city for people of all ages, the first European city with these characteristics," a Spanish investor in the joint venture, Jaime Riera, told AFP.
Developers expect the complex will receive 25 million visitors per year when it is completed, below its maximum capacity of 35 million annual visitors.
The location - half-way between Madrid and Barcelona, Spains second city - was selected over two other possible sites in Europe because it has good transportation links, favourable tax laws and relatively low land prices.
Millions are being spent in the nearby city of Zaragoza to upgrade rail and air connections, and expand its small airport, in time for the 2008 World Fair which it will host.
Zaragoza is already connected to Madrid by a high-speed train that takes only 80 minutes to make the roughly 300-kilometre trip and by the time of the fair it will be linked by high-speed rail to Barcelona as well.
The high-speed rail links will make it easier for the millions of tourists who flock to Spain each year, making it the second most visited country in the world after France, to head to the casino city.
"The renewal of infrastructure, the fame which is coming to Aragon and the quick action of local officials all attracted this project here," said Didier Rancher, a French entrepreneur whose company will install the two theme parks.
"It is an interesting project, we are dedicated to giving it all the necessary support and we have high hopes, we are forecasting the creation of 30,000 jobs," said a spokesman for the government of Aragon.
The themes of the hotel-casinos will cover the sweep of history, from Pharaonic Egypt to Ancient Greece to the Roman Era and the Italian Renaissance.
The project, which will be formally presented in Zaragoza on December 12, also includes plans for a water park and a spy-themed park called Spyland based on the worldwide history of spies and secret services.
Construction of the water park and Spyland is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2008 with the whole project built in stages.
Despite the promise of more jobs for the region, not everyone is happy with the project.
"Once again we are seeing how the local government meets the needs of private developers instead of the needs of local people," said Adolfo Barrena, a member of the opposition party Izquierda Unida or United Left.
Tourism is a major earner in Spain, with the sector accounting for some 12 per cent of gross domestic product.
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