The organizer of the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka is raising its estimate of the venue's construction cost for the second time to about ¥230 billion ($1.5 billion) due to rising material and labor costs, its officials said Monday.
The new estimate will come after the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition said in December 2020 that it expects the cost of building the venue to reach ¥185 billion, exceeding the initial estimate of ¥125 billion, due partly to changes in construction plans.
Inflation, coupled with a labor shortage, has led to a delay in participating countries and regions beginning the construction of their pavilions at the site.
The association made the new estimate after the central government instructed it to do so, the officials said. The central government will shoulder part of the cost increase, with plans to earmark the spending in the supplementary budget for fiscal 2023.
The central government, local governments in Osaka and a group of private companies have agreed to bear the cost of setting up the venue by splitting it equally.
The event, to be held from April 13 to Oct. 13, 2025, on the man-made island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay, is set to showcase technological and cultural exhibitions by around 150 countries and regions, with the number of visitors expected to reach around 28 million.