Macau’s Suncity Group Holdings Ltd. (Alvin Chau, CEO), which develops integrated resorts (IR), is currently planning the large-scale development of a hotel and villas in Kutchan Town. Land development will start soon with the project scheduled for completion around 2025. The contractor will be decided at a later time.

A project team of researchers from Hokkaido University and the University of Tokyo is developing technology for new concrete made from waste concrete and CO2. Utilizing a method with which waste concrete that has absorbed CO2 causes calcium carbonate deposition, the team aims to produce concrete with practical strength. Associate Professor Ryoma Kitagaki of the Division of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, who plays a central role in the development of raw materials, says, “We want to develop a method that can produce raw materials using the equipment and technology of local companies.”

Aizawa High Pressure Concrete (Headquarters: Tomakomai) has signed a joint development agreement with MiCon Technology in the United States for immobilization technology with which waste plastic modified with gamma rays is used as a substitute for sand when making concrete. They are targeting practical use by the spring of 2023. Since waste plastic is reused as a material rather than being used as fuel, CO2 emissions can be expected to be reduced. It is likely to attract attention as a technology that will lead to decarbonization and environmental improvement.

On June 25, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced the preliminary results of the 2020 national census. As of October 1, 2020, the population of Hokkaido, including foreign nationals, was 5,228,885, which was the eighth largest prefectural population in Japan, and showed a decrease of 152,848 or 2.8% from the previous census.

The Department of Fisheries and Forestry, Hokkaido Government, has summarized the status of forest acquisition by overseas corporations and individuals in Hokkaido. Forest acquisition by foreign capital in Hokkaido from January to December 2020 involved a total area of 53 ha and 12 cases. This was a decrease of 146 ㏊ and 23 cases compared with 2010. In Niseko, an international resort area, and its surroundings, forest acquisition involved an area of 22㏊and nine cases.