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Mayor of Bratislava Wants Casino Excluded From Metropolis Project
Wednesday 16 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 16 (TASR) - Mayor of Bratislava Andrej Durkovsky has proposed excluding a casino from the Metropolis multi-functional project to be built in the borough of Jarovce, it was announced on Wednesday.
Christian Democrat (KDH) leader Jan Figel wants the whole project cancelled as it is a venue for gambling machines and casinos. Both Durkovsky and Figel were speaking at a briefing after the project was presented to them for the first time by the board chairman of the project developer - TriGranit - in Slovakia Gabor Zaszlos.
The project should be co-financed and Metropolis partly operated by leading company in the field of gambling and the entertainment industry Harrah's Entertainment.
Durkovsky said that he supports the project but will ask the investor to drop the casino, which he sees as the main problem in the project. He said that despite an estimated increase in tax incomes of €600 million a year, a casino is not optimal because it could generate many negative phenomena. The project will be discussed by the Municipal Board as it also requires a change in the land registry.
Figel perceives the same advantages and disadvantages (organised crime, money laundering) in the project, and said that KDH wants to resolve this issue openly, transparently and comprehensively with due regard to all, and frequently immeasurable, risks.
Zaszlos noted that the casino makes up only a very small percentage of the whole area of the project, which is planned to cover 1.2 million square metres. TriGranit will try to persuade the municipal authority that the project is a historic chance for Slovakia especially in the present crisis period.
Only the investment intention and urban study, presented to the media on October 13, are available at the moment. Construction-permit proceedings have commenced as well.
Zaszlos told TASR that the company will complete the project documentation including relevant appendices and statements by mid-January of next year and will submit it to the municipal authority. Durkovsky said that the authority will then consider the detailed project.
Metropolis should include offices, a water-park, hotel, shops, services and relaxation and entertainment zones. According to the developer, the project should be the biggest of its kind in Central Europe, and it has already been given the green light by Prime Minister Robert Fico and Finance Minister Jan Pociatek.
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