Green light for new, downsized BCN World

Complex to get two casinos at most, plus new local name

Dani Revenga
2 min
El projecte de BCN World està planificat en terrenys que pertanyen, majoritàriament, a Salou. Està projectat al costat de Port Aventura.

SalouA reduction of 25% in the total surface area of the resort and of 50% in the casino area, which will drop from the 6 casinos proposed in 2012 to no more than 2. These were the main points laid out yesterday by Oriol Junqueras, Catalan Vice President, when he rolled out the new version of the leisure, convention, and gaming complex known as BCN World. Junqueras spoke of a "more realistic and sustainable" project, which combines "the interests and trust of investors with integration into the territory". The zoning master plan that will regulate the project´s development received initial approval from the Generalitat´s territorial zoning commission, with 26 votes in favor and 2 abstentions. The document also envisages a 25% reduction in the area subject to development and the maximum building height will drop from 90 meters to 75.

The project involves private investment of between €2 and €2.5 bn, and is expected to create 10,000 direct jobs. The pre-awarded companies, Hard Rock Cafe, Melco, and Peralada —the latter in partnership with the Malaysian operator Genting-- will have to deliver a deposit of €2.5 million to the Generalitat in the next few weeks to reserve purchase options on the land where the complex will be built, which is currently the property of CaixaBank. In the calendar the zoning plan is scheduled to receive final approval before the end of the year, operator licenses will be awarded in the first quarter of 2017, and construction will begin a year from now.

The Catalan Vice-President believes that the project will not be affected by more political blockades because this new format is "more integrated", and cited as examples the green zones and urban park that are included in the zoning plan for the complex. Junqueras expressed conviction that it will generate "more consensus", in reference to far-left CUP, which demanded the project´s withdrawal during the negotiations leading up to the investiture of the president of the Generalitat. The new version of BCN World will have to overcome opposition from the group Aturem BCN World (Stop BCN World), which —despite recognizing significant improvements— considers the reduction in size to be insufficient and is willing to take the zoning plan to court.

Moreover, the resort is definitely getting a new name. Junqueras explained that the name "BCN World" is "dead and buried", and clarified that the name will be decided by the investors, despite the fact that the process for awarding final licenses, scheduled for the first quarter of 2017, "will stimulate and incentivize the choice of a name linked to the traditional names of the Tarragona area".

One aspect that will not change —and one of the most controversial— is the tax break for the casinos approved by Parliament ad hoc for this project in 2014: it will remain at 10% instead of the 55% that applied to gaming activities before this reform. Junqueras noted that the complex will be subject to other tax types as well, such as business tax and VAT, and that the tax rate commitment has been maintained because investors will provide 1% of the total amount of investments in the complex to social projects and the fight against gambling addiction.

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