Integrated Casino Resort Cyprus (ICR) announced on Tuesday that it had awarded the tender for construction of Limassol’s City of Dreams Mediterranean Integrated Casino Resort to Avax – Terna JV – formerly known as J&P Avax – Terna JV)- a joint venture which is 60 per cent owned by AVAX SA and 40 per cent owned by Terna SA.

    According to the principal contract, construction is set to begin this month and is scheduled to be completed within 2021, ICR said.  The investment for the creation of the resort totals €550m.

    City of Dreams Mediterranean will be located in western Limassol and built adapt to the natural environment, ICR added.

    It will be the region’s and Europe’s largest Integrated Casino-Resort; featuring a 16-storey hotel tower with 500 guest rooms including multi-bay suites with garden balconies, an exposition centre, an extensive “poolscape” area with four large outdoor pools and amenities such as Jacuzzis as well as an expansive children’s playground and MICE facilities (meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions). It will offer over 100 tables and 1,000 state-of-the-art slot machines.

    The scope of work listed in the principal construction contract includes the building of all the resort facilities situated on 37 hectares of land, including the central podium building, which houses the main gaming floor, world-class restaurants, luxury retail, as well as the spa and health club with indoor pool. The podium also comprises the main hotel entrance and areas for staff, operations facilities and plant rooms.

    According to ICR, the resort will offer a wide range of attractions and entertainment options beyond gaming. The project is expected to attract an additional 300,000 tourists per year to Cyprus.

    City of Dreams Mediterranean will also create an estimated 4,000 local job opportunities during the construction phase and approximately 2,400 permanent jobs once it is fully operational. After the second year of operation, the Integrated Casino-Resort is expected to contribute approximately €700 million per year to the Cypriot economy, amounting to around 4 per cent of the country’s annual GDP.

    Chairman and CEO of Melco, Lawrence Ho, said on Tuesday that “the awarding of this contract marks the official beginning of the construction of City of Dreams Mediterranean and demonstrates our on-going commitment to the project as well as to Cyprus.”

    Speaking on behalf the joint venture, the Chairman of Avax, Christos Joannou added: “City of Dreams Mediterranean is a large-scale project that will drastically change the entertainment and tourism industry of both Cyprus and Europe.”