Uruguay's government launches bidding process for hotel-casino development in La Paloma

In early August, the Uruguayan government had approved the call for bids for the construction of a luxury hotel-casino in the town of La Paloma, in the Rocha Department, through a resolution signed by President Luis Lacalle Pou.

Today, the authorities confirmed the next step in the process, with the announcement of the call for bids for the project, through an announcement by the Minister of Tourism, Tabaré Viera.

Interested parties, both local and international, will have until October 23 to purchase the bidding documents, at a cost of $10,000. The opening of the envelopes with the bids will take place the following day, October 24.

The bidding is for the sale of land owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works consisting of 27 hectares and 432 meters, located in the vicinity of the port of La Paloma, between the central part of the city and La Aguada. The land is valued at approximately $6 million.

In the resolution signed by the President, it is indicated as a mandatory requirement for the bidding that a luxury hotel with a casino is built in the place, with a concession for the private exploitation of games of chance for a term of 20 years. It should be noted that, in the previous bids, the three companies that submitted bids did not pass the first stage of the call for bids.

Regarding the operation of this casino, the operator will have a royalty of 7.2% of the gross income during the first seven years. Then, it will increase to 7.97% to which it will have to add an annual fee of $1.8 million for the first year, which will be increased by another $100,000  until the seventh year.

Tabaré Viera stated: "The diamond in the rough, which is the coast of Rocha, needs to be polished and that is what the departmental government and the Ministry of Tourism are working towards as those responsible for public policies".

Remo Monzeglio

For his part, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Remo Monzeglio, indicated that this is "the most ambitious project," and that it is not intended to compete with other hotels, but "to add clients, events, conventions, and a casino room as attractions."