Politis newspaper said an official announcement on the three bidders, who all come totally or partly from the Far East, will be made next week.

However, it quoted a source as saying that the committee handling the issue reached a decision on Wednesday to proceed with the three best offers which were submitted by a consortium comprising Hard Rock of Las Vegas and Melco of Macau, Bloomberry of the Philippines and Naga of Cambodia.

The newspaper said the three best offers, out of a total of eight submitted in December, were chosen in that order of success, but in the final phase of the contest to start soon, they will be invited to submit their final bids which will be evaluated from scratch.

The framework legislation for the casino provides for an establishment of at least 500 luxury hotel rooms, 100 gaming tables and at least 1,000 gaming machines.

The bidders will be required to submit detailed plans for the project and their choice of location.

Source: Famagusta Gazette