Chinese billionaire Tony Fung’s A$4.2bn (US$3.75bn, £2.4bn) mega leisure development in Cairns, Australia has moved to the next stage, having been declared a ‘co-ordinated project’ – the first step in the Australian government’s planning approval process.

The Aquis Resort at the Great Barrier Reef project would include nine luxury hotels, a 25,000-seater sports stadium, a casino and high-end retail space.

The resort would offer 3,750 hotel rooms, 1,180 apartments and 130 villas on a beachside site at Yorkeys Knob.

Alongside hotel and living space, the development also proposes a 45,000 sq m (484,375 sq ft) convention and exhibition centre, a cultural heritage centre, an 18-hole golf course, two 2,500-seat theatres, a 20ha reef lagoon and what is being touted as one of the largest aquariums in the world.

If plans get final approval, construction will begin in 2014, with a completion date of around 2018. The development would create 9,300 jobs in the construction phase and 10,000 full-time jobs when operational.

According to the project overview, KPMG have modelled the financial benefits of the resort to show Aquis as a vital element in the future prosperity and economic sustainability of the region.

The project’s originator, Hong-Kong based banking and property tycoon Fung, believes the resort will rival structures in Macau, Dubai and Singapore, bringing international visitors to North Queensland’s tourist-dependent economy.

“What North Queensland is missing is the man-made wonder of the world,” said Mr Fung in his submission to the Queensland Government.

“Facilities of the like of Aquis don’t only attract the Chinese mass market middle-class, but also the big-spending, high value, ever-expanding Chinese upper-class.”

Projects in Cairns are a hotbed of debate – given the Great Barrier Reef’s stance as a World Heritage Site – with several groups lobbying to prevent interference with marine life and the local environment.