Catalonia bucks property slump with $7.6 bln leisure site deal

MADRID, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Spain's north-eastern region of Catalonia is to announce a deal worth 6 billion euros ($7.58 billion) with partners, including Spanish bank La Caixa and real estate company Veremonte, to build a leisure complex, a source said on Friday.

The investment, near the theme park of Port Aventura in Tarragona, comes at a time when the country's real estate market continues to slide after a property bubble burst in 2008.

No financing details were immediately available. The investment comes just a week after Catalonia's regional government applied for just over 5 billion euros from a state credit line aimed at helping its liquidity position.

Catalonia is expected to fail in its bid to attract a separate planned gambling complex to be built by Las Vegas Sands .

Spain's 17 autonomous regions remain firmly shut out of capital markets.