Arturo Rojas referred to the situation of the complex in front of the Deliberative Council.
Argentina.- In the context of the opening of ordinary sessions of the Deliberative Council, the mayor of Necochea Arturo Rojas referred to the situation of the city's casino and the municipal and provincial intentions to proceed with the sale of the complex. Before putting the establishment up for sale, the situation of the slot machines must be resolved, since since its reopening in 2023, the casino only offers table games.
In this regard, during the speech, Rojas announced that he has requested a new appraisal from the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires so that, once he has it, he can rearrange the bid and send it to the Deliberative Council, for a tender, while waiting for the province of Buenos Aires to carry out the slot machine tender.
The slot machine tender for Necochea will include an investment in equipment and maintenance of the gaming room, and will go hand in hand with the tender of the complex by the municipality.
The novelty, in this last point, is that the bids must be reassembled for the Deliberative Council to deal with, as the auditorium complex that was not previously included will also be included.
In January, during the event presenting the summer season, Arturo Rojas, mayor of the seaside city, spoke about the delayed call for tenders to sell the casino and operate slots, something that workers have been requesting for a long time.
It is worth remembering that in May last year, the president of the Provincial Institute of Lottery and Casinos (IPLyC Buenos Aires), Gonzalo Atanasof, toured the Necochea Casino with Mayor Rojas and workers of the complex, where they announced a new phase of joint work to tender the casino. At that time, they said that the slot machine tender for Necochea would include an investment in equipment and maintenance of the gaming room, and would go hand in hand with the tender of the complex by the municipality. The call was expected to be launched in October.
During his visit to the casino on January 16, Rojas declared: “Hopefully this will be the year in which the Province of Buenos Aires through the Institute can carry out the tender that we have been waiting for so long, not only from the municipality but also the workers, understanding that the file has already circulated through the state agencies and today is in the Ministry of Economy”.
According to the local media TSN Necochea, the municipal chief explained that from that key step, the bid would be raised to the Deliberative Council and added that it would allow, on one hand “the reconstruction of a complex so dear to the feelings of all the people of Necochea and the tourists who visit us, and on the other hand to refunctionalize other sectors and make an urban development”.
“We hope for progress in the coming months to be able to make a call for tenders in search of investors that allow the reconstruction and everything that it means in terms of labor and tourism to put this complex in condition, which has been in decline for so many years”, Rojas concluded.
On the other hand, Alberto Esnaola radical leader from Necochea, pointed out in communication with NEC Radio Fm 98.3 that the building must be demolished: “I am tired of being told that the building is recoverable. Who is going to put the money for the revaluation?”, he declared. For the opposition leader, the project for the reconditioning “lacks any sense” and added: “Necochea has to preserve the gaming room, but in another place”.
In an interview with a local media, the president of the Deliberative Council of Necochea, Guillermo Sánchez, spoke again about the worrying situation of the complex and expressed his position: “Hopefully we can have the file that deals with the possibility of launching a tender to develop an urban project”, he declared.
He then revealed the position of Nueva Necochea, the political party he represents, and noted: “We as a political space have made a decision, the mayor has made the decision, already some years ago, to put it up for sale, to make a price comparison with urban projects”.
He also noted that “there is no other option but to sell it, and use the place so that it has public spaces, private sectors and that the table game can be maintained in the place”.
