The licenses, effective from January 1 through 2033, were officially approved on Friday. By the end of the contract, the casino operators are expected to have poured a total of 118.8 billion patacas into the Macau economy to meet their contractual obligations.

The biggest spender is Venetian, which has committed to spending 27.8 billion of its 30 billion patacas in new investment on non-gaming projects.

The group has pledged to attract global multinational companies to hold annual conferences and corporate summits in Macau by expanding and upgrading its convention facilities. It will also expand its network of international sales offices in Asia, Europe, and the US.

Among the planned investments are plans for new theme parks. Galaxy is planning to build a 610,000 square metre hi-tech theme park and will hold more sporting events in its 1,600-seat convention centre.

Those projects are part of its 27.5 billion patacas going toward non-gaming activities and expanding international clientele, out of 28.4 billion patacas in new investment.

Galaxy Casino said it will establish offices in Singapore, Thailand and South Korea and facilitate marketing plans to expand in Southeast Asia and India.

Melco Resorts has plans for a park of its own – Macau’s first year-round indoor water park to be opened next year. The group will also promote sports and hold competitions to “enhance Macau’s reputation as an international sport city and as a world centre for tourism and leisure”, the company said in its presentation.

Melco’s 11.82 billion patacas in new investments include 10 billion patacas for non-gaming activities.

Among the flagship projects the group unveiled for 2023 to 2025 is a three-year residency concert programme, a first for Asia, which will hold 90 shows featuring top singers from around the world.

Wynn is spending 16.5 billion patacas on non-gaming projects and to attract foreign visitors. Its total new investment is 17.73 billion patacas.

MGM is planning to redesign and upgrade existing facilities and develop year-round tourism services, including annual exhibitions, symposia and business activities, which will “promote Chinese culture from multiple dimensions”, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

This will come from 15 billion patacas for non-gaming projects out of 16.7 billion in total new investment.

MGM’s Pansy Ho Chiu-king said the massive investment in non-gaming activities is the “phase II” progression for the city’s sustainable development, “to create a more comprehensive world tourism destination leading with gaming”.

Developing non-gaming activities can boost the city’s economy in the long-term, she added, and transform the job market into one with greater employment options for later generations.

Ho thinks both gaming and non-gaming activities will drive the economy and create a more competitive Macau that will outperform new markets in other cities.

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SJM’s non-gaming investment will reach 12 billion patacas, out of 14 billion total. The company is preparing for relaxed Covid rules to bring in significantly more tourists next year, according to Daisy Ho, chairman and executive director of SJM Holdings.

“We believe our revenue next year will see a distinct improvement compared to the last three years,” she said.

Under the new agreements, the operators must submit plans by September 30 each year for non-gaming investment, development, and implementation plans for the following year, Secretary for Administration and Justice Andre Cheong Weng-chon said at the press conference on Friday.

If the operators are unable to invest the full amount to which they committed, they must invest the difference into community projects or other projects approved by the government.

There will be 11 satellite casinos operating next year, down from 18 at end of June. The government has required the operators to absorb the approximately 1,940 employees from the seven suspended casinos.

Macau has held back-to-back press conferences on the new licenses and investment after easing Covid-19 quarantine rules for inbound visitors, including those from Hong Kong.

Policies including five days of home monitoring and the resumption of e-Visa approvals in September indicate that it will be easier for mainland tourists to visit Macau, said Melco Resorts chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho Yau-lung.

There will be more inbound foreign travellers when all restrictions are scrapped, he added.

Companies and residents alike have been impacted by the pandemic’s economic shock, Ho said. Over the past three years, Melco’s debt increased 87 per cent to 56 billion patacas.

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All Macau casinos close in latest Covid-19 outbreak

All Macau casinos close in latest Covid-19 outbreak

“We are still very confident in the long term,” Ho said. “As we have a long history in Macau, we will do our best to develop the market in the next 10 years.”

Macau’s zero-Covid rules have decimated the gambling and tourism industries, driving gaming revenue down to 38.7 billion patacas in the first 11 months of this year. The city is on track to fall below its previous all-time low in 2020 of 60.40 billion patacas.

Industry revenue in November was down to 3 billion patacas, 56 per cent lower than the same month last year.