No dice, RWS may open on Jan 20

Phased opening planned as it waits for casino licence

TECHNICALLY, Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) can now open for business as it has received TOP (temporary occupation permit) from the authorities. It also has more than 6,000 staff on board and over 1,000 more on their way soon.

However, the operator’s casino licence is still being processed.

Nevertheless, it has committed to opening some parts of the resort this month anyway.

In a statement released yesterday, RWS, which is owned by Genting Singapore, said that it would begin its ‘phased opening’ from Jan 20 beginning with four hotels.

Reservations for rooms and restaurants begin on Jan 10.

A check with RWS revealed that the Universal Studios Singapore buildings have also received TOP but will open later.

Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Crockfords Tower and Hotel Michael will provide a total of 1,350 rooms and 10 restaurants.

As the casino is located in the basement of Crockfords Tower, it too has received TOP. However, RWS said that the opening date for the casino will be announced when it gets the casino licence.

Earlier reports noted that RWS’s submission for the casino licence had been delayed because its submission was incomplete. RWS declined to comment on any outstanding issues.

When contacted, the Casino Regulatory Authority said the casino licence is still being processed.

To date, the price tag for RWS is US$4.4 billion.

Chairman of the Genting Group and RWS Lim Kok Thay said: ‘When the Genting Group won the bid to build Resorts World Sentosa in December 2006, we promised Singapore that we will deliver a true IR that will make Singapore and Singaporeans proud. We have been single-minded about this – no distractions or excuses – and today, we are happy to say we marked the first milestone towards delivering on that promise.’

Before the hotels open to the public on the Jan 20, two were opened to the staff of RWS yesterday.

RWS CEO Tan Hee Teck said that the phased schedule allows the resort and its projected 10,000 employees to ‘run in operations’.

He also acknowledged that RWS ‘had not only opened on time, but ahead of schedule’.

Phase Two of the integrated resort will open later. This includes two more hotels with a total of 500 rooms, a destination spa, the Marine Life Park and the Maritime Experiential Museum.

Source: Business Times, 6 Jan 2010