 With the support of the government, the $34 million Christmas Island Casino and Resort opened in 1993 but was closed in 1998. , the resort has re-opened without the casino.The Australian government in 2001 agreed to support the creation of a commercial spaceport on the island; however, this has not yet been constructed and appears that it will not proceed.The Howard government built a temporary immigration detention centre on the island in 2001 and planned to replace it with a larger, modern facility at North West Point until Howard's defeat in the 2007 elections.