Hotel to be built at returned U.S. military site in Okinawa | Kyodo News

NAHA, Japan, Oct. 22, Kyodo

The town of Kin in Okinawa Prefecture said Monday it has reached an agreement with Malaysian developer Dijaya Corp. to construct a hotel on a former U.S. military training site returned to Japan last year.

Around 16 hectares of the 60-hectare site will be used for the project to be launched as early as next year, with the company saying it is also hoping to build other facilities such as a shopping mall and a wedding hall over the next 15 years. Total investment for the development will amount to around 60 billion yen, according to Dijaya.

The projects are expected to create 800 jobs, the company said.

Dijaya Chief Executive Officer Tan Chee Sing said Okinawa is a major tourist spot that attracts people from other parts of Japan and from Asia, and he hopes to make the town of Kin "a world-renowned tourist site."

Kin Mayor Tsuyoshi Gibu also expressed hope that the project will have a positive economic impact on the town.

"It is major progress toward the revitalization of the town and I am filled with emotion...I am hopeful that it will create employment for young people and lead to more spending," he said.

The town is also considering building medical and rehabilitation facilities at the site.

The land was returned to Japan in July 2011 after the U.S. military used it as a drill site for 54 years. The two sides agreed in 1996 that the land would be returned at the end of March 1998, but the schedule was postponed due to difficulties in relocating its functions to other military sites in the town.

==Kyodo

Source: http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2012/10/189452.html

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