Genting Casinos UK, the UK subsidiary of Malaysian gaming and hospitality giant Genting Group, is planning to invest €140 million in what could turn into one of Andorra’s largest foreign projects.

The government of the tiny nation squeezed between Spain and France is expected to announce the winning bidder for the construction of its first casino resort within the next several weeks. As many as nine developers have submitted 13 bids for the sole casino gaming license.

Genting has actually been one of the companies to place the largest bids. While more details about the company’s project are yet to be released, it has become known that about €90 million of the whole €140-million investment would be spent on the gaming portion of the scheme. The company would also develop a €35-million hotel tower and different facilities, including restaurants, bars, and a spa, as part of the whole resort.

Genting’s project in Andorra is expected to create 600 jobs during construction and around 400 permanent jobs once the property is fully operational. According to information from various sources, Andorra welcomes between 8 million and 10 million international visitors each year. Genting has said that it expects its resort, if it gets the green light from the nation’s government, would annually attract around 600,000 visitors.

The company considers Andorra a strategic market due to its proximity to France and Spain and this is why it is ready to bet big on that untapped market.

As mentioned above, there were 13 projects to have been submitted as part of the bidding process. The winning developer, slated to be announced by the end of this month, will be granted a 20-year license for the operation of a casino gaming facility within a larger resort.

The bidding process was launched with a requirement for interested developers to each present a project with a minimum investment of €10 million. While most of the bidders submitted smaller-scale plans, Genting has one major competitor to have, too, introduced a €140-million scheme. Spanish casino operator Cirsa is thus bidding for Andorra’s first and only casino license, as well.

Andorra local developer Cierco, Gauselmann Group’s Merkur, and French gaming operator Partouche are, too, participating in the bidding process.

Commenting on the fact that Andorra’s first casino will actually be part of a larger resort, Genting has said that the standalone casino model is now somewhat obsolete and that land-based gaming facilities need to be accompanied by other, non-gaming, venues in order to survive and thrive in a highly competitive environment.

Andorra has become yet another European nation to have been interested in exploring the casino resort model, although its first such property will be of a smaller size when compared to behemoth resorts located across the Las Vegas Strip and Macau.

Hong Kong’s Melco broke ground last week on a €550-million integrated resort in the Republic of Cyprus, while it was understood late last month that Hard Rock International was gearing up to build a €2-billion integrated resort in Tarragona, Spain.

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