From the BBC:
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The parliament in the Spanish region of Aragon is due to approve
a law that would allow the biggest entertainment and leisure complex in
Europe to go ahead.
The plans include an Egyptian-themed hotel
The Gran Scala project proposes building casino-hotels, theme parks
and a racecourse in countryside near the village of Ontinena.
The thirteenth century Church of Saint Mary sits on a hill in the centre of Ontinena, like a beacon for moral guidance.
Many Roman Catholics would associate casinos with deadly sins, so
the response of Father Lorenzo, the 80-year-old, bespectacled priest,
to plans to build a city of casinos and theme parks next to his
village, is surprising.
"In general I think it's a good idea," he says.
"I suppose it could bring economic development. But moral development, that depends on the individual."
Desert climate
The plans by a company called International Leisure Development
(ILD) to build Spain's answer to Las Vegas in countryside near Ontinena
are strongly supported by the locals.
One survey found that more than 80% of the people who live in the
region favour the scheme that would see more than 30 casino hotels, a
convention centre, theme parks, golf courses, a racecourse and a dog
track, constructed on an area of countryside the size of 1,500 football
pitches.
I think we have everything to make the cocktail wonderful
Jaime Riera, ILD spokesperson
Ontinena, in the Spanish region of Aragon, is about two hours drive from Barcelona and has a population of 600.
It is bordered by the Monegros Desert and farmland dedicated to cereal crops.
As he gestures across the countryside where he hopes this leisure
city will rise, Jaime Riera, an ILD spokesperson, says the owners of
the land are willing to sell and that finding the estimated $20bn
(£14bn) to fund the scheme, even in the economic crisis, is no problem.
"We have never had problems regarding financing," he says.
"I am so confident because you can have the land, you can have the
institutional support and you can have the money, but in this case I
think we have everything to make the cocktail wonderful."
'Spain's future'
He also has the confidence of the Mayor of Ontinena, Angel Torres,
who does not see the irony when commenting on the beauty of the
countryside, much of which will be covered in cement if the leisure
city plans go ahead.
Most of the locals approve of the plans
The mayor has dozens of CVs sent in by people who hope to be employed if this casino city starts construction later this year.
"It's a great project and it represents the future of Ontinena, the
region and all Spain, so the town council is strongly behind it to make
sure it happens as quickly as possible," says Mr Torres.
ILD estimates that 200,000 people will be employed directly or indirectly by its leisure city.
The socialist regional government of Aragon also supports the
project and is backing a law to approve the project, which is expected
to be passed by the end of June with the support of the opposition
conservatives.
The government says the law would enforce all the necessary legal guarantees and environmental controls on the scheme.
There is some opposition to the Gran Scala scheme. News reports
suggest Spain's ombudsman is looking into the scheme after complaints
from Stop Gran Scala, a collection of community organisations who say
environmental impact studies have been insufficient.
If the Leisure City goes ahead it will be sitting alongside the Monegros Desert, a region that suffers chronic drought.
But ILD says its casino city will be a model for sustainable development and claims there is plenty of water.
Saving water
An hour away from Ontinena, in the middle of another parched Spanish plain, lies the city of Zaragoza.
These card players could be getting new surroundings for their game
Last year, the city hosted the World Water Expo that was all about
conserving water resources and promoting sustainable development. It is
unlikely a casino city like Gran Scala is what they had in mind as a
model.
But if you walk around Ontinena, you will find many houses in ruins.
The population of the village was 2,000 a century ago; now it is only
600.
Spain's unemployment rate is the highest in Europe and this isolated
region in particular is badly in need of investment and jobs. Many
people see the proposed leisure city as their best hope for a brighter
future.
In Ontinena's local bar, the elderly men of the village often pass the time playing cards.
In these humble, smoky surroundings, it is difficult, but not
impossible, to imagine them playing their game in the halls of one of
Gran Scala's hotel-casinos.
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hasta pronto,
mylifeinspain
Teen
TV and stage star, Hannah Montana (real name Miley Cyrus), who at the
tender age of 16 has already accumulated a personal fortune of almost a
billion dollars, breezed into Madrid yesterday to promote her latest
work 'Hannah Montana: The Film'.
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