THE roulette wheels at the Marina Bay Sands will not be set spinning for several months yet.
Construction delays have pushed back the opening of the US$5.5 billion (S$7.6 billion) resort by more than three months. Slated to open by the end of last year, punters will now have to wait until April to get access to its gaming tables.
The postponement means it will miss out on the lucrative Chinese New Year gambling season. Competitor Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) could also have a higher chance of locking in local market share – Singaporean residents who pay for a $2,000 annual pass exclusive to one casino.
But coming in behind RWS at the finishing line does not mean being second best for Las Vegas Sands. The parent company of Marina Bay Sands has staved off potential bankruptcy and put a Macau project on hold to focus on its top priority, the Singapore resort. Brushing aside building overruns and soaring project costs, it says that it is the marathon after the opening that matters.
‘We are in it for decades, so the delay of a day or week is meaningless… We’re not going to open until it is right, whether it is delayed or not delayed,’ says Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson, who boldly predicts annual earnings of US$1 billion for the resort.
What the resort loses in time-keeping, it hopes to make up for with panache. When complete, its soaring skybridge will offer breathtaking views of the Singapore skyline. Top celebrity chefs are set to cook up a storm at its kitchens and gaming with Las Vegas flair will be available at its casino.
The vision is taking shape, said the resort’s chief executive officer and president Thomas Arasi. The 14 heavy pieces that make up the 7,000-tonne steel structure of the Sands SkyPark – a 1.2ha aerial park sitting on three 55-storey hotel towers – have been lifted. Hotel rooms up to the 22nd floor have been fitted out, the roofs are nearly finished on the convention centre and the casino, and the event plaza along Marina Bay is almost complete.
‘The spectacular design of Marina Bay Sands is coming alive and reshaping the skyline of Singapore,’ he says. ‘It’s really exciting to see this come together.’
The SkyPark is certainly going to be something of an architectural wonder. It is longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall and large enough to park 41/2 A-380 jumbo jets in. Aside from architectural spectacle, the resort will offer theatrical performances such as the much-touted Broadway musical The Lion King.
And for those more interested in gastronomic delights, there will be a chance to sample the creations of celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck of Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, Daniel Boulud of Michelin-starred French restaurant Daniel in New York, Santi Santamaria of Michelin-starred Can Fabes in Spain, and Mario Batali of Italian restaurants Babbo and Lupa in New York.
‘Marina Bay Sands will set a new benchmark in the hospitality sector with the sheer scale of our facilities… as well as our exemplary service,’ adds Mr Arasi. The 2,600-room Marina Bay Sands – which includes more than 93,000 sq m of retail space, a museum and two theatres – is due to open in two phases.
The first phase will see half of the casino, 950 hotel rooms, three restaurants, and part of the convention venues and shopping space commence operations. The remaining facilities will open as part of the second phase 45 to 60 days later, with guest access to the SkyPark slated no later than two months after phase one.
Ahead of the phased opening, business is being drawn to this giant resort, with the Sands tapping into its considerable expertise in the Mice (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) industry. It has lined up a series of events for the Sands Expo and Convention Centre that are expected to draw over 150,000 people between this year and 2012.
They range from the Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo Asia 2011 trade show – the first major textile event catering for an Asian audience – to an annual conference organised by the Inter-Pacific Bar Association that features former US vice-president Al Gore as a keynote speaker.
Rooms have already been booked by event organisers wanting to use the Sands for their conferences and trade shows, and 40 contracts have been signed with travel agents from around the world to bring in leisure travellers.
This makes Mr Adelson pretty bullish about the resort’s prospects. He is eyeing annual earnings of US$1 billion – way ahead of the US$400 million to US$800 million predicted by analysts.
Such takings will bring considerable spin-off benefits to the wider Singapore economy.
Taken together, the two integrated resorts are likely to contribute between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent of Singapore’s gross domestic product when fully operational.
The job windfall from this is going to be massive, with an estimated 14,000 employees needed to run the Marina Bay Sands resort and its tenanted shops. And many more will be employed indirectly by suppliers and contractors.
But Mr Arasi is keen to emphasise that the benefits of the Marina Bay Sands cannot be measured purely in terms of dollars and cents.
‘Beyond the numbers and economic benefits, Marina Bay Sands will be a very big part of creating a new mystique and a new buzz in Singapore.’
Source: Straits Times, 16 Jan 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment