Earlier this month the Foreign Investment Review Board allowed Aquis to purchase 340 hectares of land for the development of Tony Fung's A$4.2bn (US$3.75bn, €2.72bn, £2.4bn) mega resort in Cairns.

The Aquis Resort at Yorkeys Knob, the

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

Permission for this 340 hectare (3.4sq km, 1.3sq m) land acquisition was described by Hong Kong billionaire and Aquis developer as “an important milestone for the project.”

"The approval allows us to push ahead with other aspects of the project with full confidence there will be no impediments to acquiring the sites when we decide to execute the options" said Aquis chief executive, Justin Fung.

Aquis signed a A$269m (US$244.8m, €177.3m £147m) takeover bid contract in late February with the Reef Casino Trust, which owns the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns.

The chief executive of Aquis, Justin Fung, said the company would take full ownership of the land once plans for the project are fully approved and the Reef Casino licence is extended and secured.

Aquis has also applied for one of two new regional Queensland licences on offer by the state government in case the Reef Casino licence cannot be extended.

The Reef Casino licence may be faster to approve, which means construction could begin this year, instead of May 2015.

Projects in Cairns have sparked fierce debate in recent times – 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.