THE long regulatory process begins immediately for Tony Fung's $4.2 billion mega-resort proposal and local political leaders insist everyone will have their chance to weigh in on the issue before a sod is turned.
"It's not a case of making the decision today," Cairns Mayor Bob Manning said.
"It's a case of going through this process.
"I expect that we will have a process which is fair, which is open, which is impartial and which should give us the right outcome."
The council will have the ultimate say on Mr Fung's development application as long as the sprawling resort on 343ha of farming land at Yorkeys Knob passes the environmental impact statement process, which it is about to enter.
It took only a week for the co-ordinator general, Barry Broe, to declare "co-ordinated project" status for Mr Fung's proposal. However the Hong Kong developer had been in private talks with the State Government for months.
"He's very conscious to work with the local community," Cairns MP Gavin King said.
"He's very aware of the scale of this project and the impact that it might have on the community. All the way through every meeting we've ever had with him, he's made the very strong point that he respects Far North Queensland."
Mr King said "rational, mature debate" was needed as the project went through the range of regulation that faces a development of its size.
"It's not going to please everybody but it is a project that will transform the Far North Queensland economy."
The resort promises to employ 9300 people during construction and 10,000 once operational.
Cr Manning said the international investment community would be looking at the region with renewed vigour.
"People will say there's something in this tropical north Queensland that we need to go back and re-look at," he said.
Barron River MP Michael Trout, whose electorate takes in the proposed site, said Aquis would do for the region what the Sheraton Mirage once did for Port Douglas.
"Airlines all over the world will point their planes towards Cairns once again," Mr Trout said.
Mr Fung was unavailable for comment yesterday but will return to the Far North this month.
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Source: http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2013/08/03/246178_local-news.html
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