Information About Efforts Related to Public Facility Development Projects under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Schemes

April 11, 2022

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it will take part in public facility development projects under public-private partnership (PPP) schemes and expand those efforts to local governments around Japan, in order to demonstrate its significance to society in solving potential issues in regions across Japan.
With the deterioration of public facilities, local governments need to respond to a wide range of local issues, from developing evacuation centers to cope with increasingly severe disasters, to regional revitalization and the promotion of health among residents. However, improvements to public facilities require a significant amount of financial resources, and many local governments face structural challenges including the lack of expertise and human resources.
In its first PPP-based public facility development project to solve these potential and existing issues, ITOCHU was selected as a constituent company and holder of preferential negotiating rights in the public solicitation of proposals for the the Shibata Town Multi-purpose Gymnasium Development Project (Provisional Name) in Shibata Town, Miyagi Prefecture, and recently signed a comprehensive project agreement with the town of Shibata.
The project will employ a PPP scheme to develop a new multi-purpose gymnasium to replace the Shibata Municipal Gymnasium that was demolished after being severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. A consortium led by ITOCHU will plan, design, construct, maintain, operate and own the facility.
In this project, the expertise unique to private sector companies will be used to improve project efficiency and reduce the financial burden on the local government. Equipment that can cope with the operation of an evacuation center in the event of a disaster will be installed, and a construction system by capital and business alliance partner of ITOCHU, Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd., will be established. In this way, the facility will be developed by making full use of ITOCHU Group resources. Project partners including local companies will work together to develop and operate a facility to provide high-quality community-based public services in a sustainable manner.
Using this project as a starting point, ITOCHU will roll out public facility development projects including public sports facilities around Japan by proposing new roles for public facility development through the real estate development expertise it has cultivated to date, and through coordination between the ITOCHU Group and project partners. Through a market-in approach that is characteristic of a general trading company, ITOCHU will continue to promote “Sampo-yoshi” businesses that contribute to local communities.

Outline of the Shibata Town Multi-purpose Gymnasium Development Project (Provisional Name)

Location Kamiohara, Oaza Funaoka, Shibata-machi, Shibata-gun, Miyagi Prefecture
Business Partners [Consortium Members]
Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Nobutoshi Takase, Representative Director and President)
NTT TC Leasing Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Akihiro Naruse, President)
Institute of New Architecture Inc. (headquartered in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Tomoyuki Kato, President and CEO)
Fukushi Enterprise, Ltd. (headquartered in Koto-ku, Tokyo; Sakae Fukushi, Representative Director)
O-Ence Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Kazuo Oki, President and Representative Director)

[Major Affiliated Companies]
NTT DOCOMO, Inc. (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Motoyuki Ii, President and Chief Executive Officer)
Project Method Building lease method
Project Length FY2022 to FY2041 (20 years)
Building Plan Building with two aboveground floors with steel frame + reinforced concrete structure (planned)
Total floor area: approx. 3,936.88 m2 (planned)

For more information, please refer to the press release materials published on the Shibata Town website.
Shibata Town Website: https://www.town.shibata.miyagi.jp/index.cfm/82,47020,163,345,html (Japanese)