Hungarian authorities are expected to issue a building licence for a large development project dubbed Euro Vegas near the Austrian border in north-west Hungary within the next few weeks, business daily Napi Gazdasag reported on Friday.

Local council officials in Bezenye, where the project is planned to be built, and nearby Mosonmagyarovar told the paper that the Austrian environmental authorities had recently approved the project.

Financing appears to be secure: one of the world's largest casino operators, Hard Rock International, is a big investor, the paper added.

The Euro Vegas project is planned for a 335-hectare area near Bezenye by Phase Asset 1, a company registered in Mosonmagyarovar last November. Under the first phase of development, expected to start this year, a 24-floor luxury hotel with 316 rooms is to be built, including a conference centre with a capacity of 4,000 people, casinos, restaurants and a thermal spa.

Under a concession contract signed with Hungarian state, the first casino in Bezenye must start operating by November 2010. In line with the contract, annual budget revenues of 1 billion forints per casino are expected from Euro Vegas, the paper said.