Marina Bay Sands project is on track to be completed by the second half of 2009.

SINGAPORE : The S$5 billion Marina Bay Sands project is on track to be completed by the second half of 2009.

This is despite the recent sand ban and disruption in the supply of granite.

Meanwhile, according to project designer and architect Moshe Safdie, some of the original designs have been updated.

The new addition to Singapore’s cityscape is a mammoth task, especially given obstacles such as rising costs and a shortage of manpower.

Mr Moshe Safdie said, “It’s one of those things that happen when you take a project of such a scale. It certainly didn’t make it easier for us. Marina Bay Sands is looking for alternative sources as everybody else is and we’ll keep going and overcome the issue.”

He also said some of the designs have evolved since they were first conceptualised - like the Art-Science museum.

He said, “The form of the Art-Science museum was free form. We spent months making it a very orderly mathematical structure of spheroids which makes it a sounder structure, cheaper to build and I think more beautiful at the same time.”

Mr Moshe Safdie said, “The first shock and surprise is when we started excavating and we found the old sea wall which used to be the wave break which used to protect the boats in the bay. And we’ve had to remove that and it’s been an extremely costly and complicated process.”

Las Vegas Sands signed an agreement with the Singapore government in May last year, to build a S$5 billion (US$3.2 billion) integrated resort, three months after winning the bid.

The Singapore Government announced today that it will award the project to develop the Integrated Resort (IR) at Marina Bay to Las Vegas Sands Corporation (“Sands”).

The Ministerial Committee (Tender Approving Authority or TAA) evaluating the four proposals, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Professor S Jayakumar , announced their decision at a press conference this evening. Prof Jayakumar said, “All four proposers submitted very strong proposals which reflected their commitment to developing a truly outstanding integrated resort in Singapore”. He added that “Sands had submitted the best overall proposal that meets our economic and tourism objectives.”

The RFP for the Marina Bay IR was launched on 15 Nov 2005 and closed on 29 Mar 2006. Four proposers responded to the RFP – i.e. Sands; Harrah’s Entertainment and Keppel Land (“Harrah’s”); Genting International and Star Cruises (“Genting”); and MGM Mirage and CapitaLand (“MGM”).

Each of the four proposers committed to invest a total of $4 billion to $5 billion in a world-class development that would generate substantial economic benefits for Singapore. This reflects the strong confidence of international investors in Singapore’s tourism sector. All the proposals offered an excellent range of tourism products, ranging from MICE (i.e. Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) facilities to leisure attractions and entertainment shows. The proposals also all met the stringent social safeguards set by the Singapore Government for the casino component.

The evaluation of the proposals was based on the following four main criteria, with approximate weights as shown:

a. Tourism appeal and contribution (40%);
b. Architectural concept and design (30%);
c. Development investment (20%); and
d. Strength of consortium and partners (10%).

Sands committed to the highest development investment of $3.85 billion. Together with the land price and other associated capital costs, the total investment by Sands would exceed $5 billion. This is one of the largest investments in the world for a single IR. The Marina Bay Sands is expected to stimulate an additional $2.7 billion (or approximately 0.8%) to Singapore’s annual Gross Domestic Product and generate 30,000 jobs throughout the economy by 2015.