Cogit Group got quite the feather in their caps on September 13, when it was announced that they became the first group to receive a license to operate a casino on the South American Island nation of French Guiana. This new project is expected to open in the capital city of Cayenne.
This is expected to be quite an expansive operation. An economic impact study conducted by Atout France had already determined that any future casino in the capital city would rank in the top 10 among all French casinos “in terms of turnover.”
Currently, the turnover is set at €6 million ($6.6 million) for each of the initial two years. It is then determined that the turnover rate will be at €11 million ($12.1 million) with a total amount of €26 million ($28.6 million) being achieved when the concession is reached, which is in the 18th year.
It is expected that the operation will draw an annual income of at least €200,000 ($220,000) to the local region. The initial amount expected to the local municipality will be €1.2 million ($1.32 million) until the entire casino is completed. At that point, the Cayenne region is expected to draw and €2.6 million ($2.86 million) in annual revenue.
The location of the new casino is in a prime spot in the capital city, located at the entrance of Horth and Grant located on Montalbo Road.
However, before operations get underway there are a few more hurdles that the Cogit group will have to jump through. The first is that they must acquire a building permit and a public inquiry must be held. They must also present an open filing to the Advisory Committee on Casino Games which must earn approval from the Minister of the Interior. None of these are expected to be an obstacle.
As part of the project, Cogit is not only expected to build a casino, but also a 460 seat theater, a restaurant, and a bar. The total amount of investment is €30m, and it is expected that the temporary casino will employ as many as 100 people. Once the permanent structure is finished, it is expected to employ 300.
Cogit already operates four casinos located in France and four in the West Indies.
The company had originally been granted approval by the government to begin operations on a casino in April 2012, but the project was abandoned in July 2015. According to officials with Cogit, they found the political environment to not be conducive to building the facility at that time, but recently have found that “The administrative and political environment has evolved and is much more favorable, with the pooling of resources and the promotion of the territory.”
