The first of ten tower cranes has arrived at the site of the A$3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf integrated resort in Brisbane, marking an important step forward for the major project.
The first crane springing up at the site means that the hotel and casino resort’s development is moving from excavation to actual construction phase. Excavation work started nearly two and a half years ago.
Australian casino operator The Star Entertainment Group and its Chinese partners – Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium formed Destination Brisbane Consortium to win the right to develop the Queen’s Wharf property over rival Crown Resorts in a 2015 tender.
The new 49-meter Favco crane will be used to build one of four hotel and residential towers planned for the resort. Another crane will be built up next week. Commenting on the new project milestone, Queensland Tourism Minister Kate Jones said that “when you have up to ten tower cranes on the city skyline, that’s a great thing.”
Speaking to local media, Ms. Jones added that the mega-resort scheme is a “project that will create long term sustainable jobs in Brisbane, and also be a game-changer for Queensland’s tourism industry.” The Tourism Minister revealed that 8,000 ongoing jobswill start being recruited from 2020 onwards. She also pointed out that the State Government expects the integrated resort to “inject tens of millions of dollars back into the local economy” each year.
The Queen’s Wharf Resort
The Star’s complex in Brisbane is set to be completed in 2022. The property will feature four luxury hotels, more than 50 new food and beverage outlets, 2,000 residential apartments, a casino, as well as a public area occupying the equivalent of 12 football fields, among others.
Workers began preparing the site where the hotel and casino resort will be located in early 2016 with the demolition of non-heritage government buildings in the area. Excavation work then began.
Construction phase will officially kick off in July, with Multiplex, the construction company, taking over from Probuild. Construction is expected to generate 2,000 temporary jobs.
Commenting on their Brisbane project, The Star’s General Manager, Geoff Hogg told local media that claims that the amount of public accessibility at the company’s resort would be limited were untrue. He also rejected claims that the resort’s casino would be the facility to see the heaviest amount of promotion.
Mr. Hogg pointed out that the public space at the complex would be huge and that the casino will actually be located “above the main floor area, so literally you would only need to go through that if you were actually choosing to go to the casino.”
The company official added that “everything else is accessible by different ways… people will be able to access the whole precinct.”
The Star currently operates the Treasury Casino and Hotel Brisbane in the city. The company will transfer its Treasury Casino license to the gambling venue at the Queen’s Wharf resort once the latter is fully operational.
Source: www.casinonewsdaily.com