S'pore invites bid for Sentosa IR
project, 5 players express interest
SINGAPORE - Five companies from the top ranks of the world's
gambling powerhouses expressed an interest in Singapore's second
integrated resort project after the government formally invited
bids Friday.
The five are Bahamas-based Kerzner International, South African
casino operator Sun International, privately held Las Vegas casino
developer Eighth Wonder, US gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment and
Malaysia's Genting International.
Representatives from the five parties trooped to the Singapore
Tourism Board (STB) office Friday to obtain a 700-page document
outlining the specifications for the project on the resort island
of Sentosa.
The bidding will close on October 10 and the winner be announced by
the end of the year.
On March 29, the STB closed the bidding for Singapore's first
integrated resort project on downtown Marina Bay -- estimated to
cost three billion US dollars -- with four major gaming operators
in contention.
The Marina Bay winner will be known in June and the resort is due
to open in 2009.
The Sentosa bids will be judged largely according to their tourism
appeal, followed by architectural design, level of investment and
the strength of the bidders, the board said in a statement.
STB fixed the land price for the Sentosa project at 605 million
Singapore dollars (383 million US), allowing the bidders to focus
on other aspects of the project instead of engaging in a price war
for the location.
Kerzner International, which is partnering local developer
CapitaLand for the project, is prepared to invest one billion US
dollars, an executive said.
The company is the developer, owner and operator of Atlantis,
Paradise Island, a 2,317-room island destination resort and casino
complex in the Bahamas and said it is keen to bring a touch of that
to Sentosa.
"I think if you look at our track record, we have demonstrated that
you can transform tourism. That's what we did in the Bahamas,"
executive development director Ian Douglas told reporters after
picking up the documents.
"We turned around occupancy rates, we brought tourists to the
Bahamas and that's what we like to try and do for Singapore as
well."
The tourism board said the Sentosa integrated resort, of which the
casino will be a part, will occupy 49 hectares (121 acres) to
provide some 343,000 square metres (3.69 million square feet) of
gross floor area.
"It will be a world-class tropical resort that offers the whole
family a fun and memorable leisure experience," the board said in a
statement.
Apart from the casino, it will include hotels, spas, dining and
retail outlets and corporate meeting facilities.
US casino developer Eighth Wonder, which is teaming up with
high-end hotel operator Starwood for the project, also expects to
invest more than one billion US dollars if its wins the licence. It
will be the company's first outing in Southeast Asia.
"We are here to make a major commitment in Singapore and our plan
is to be here and use this as probably our home base," Eighth
Wonder chairman Mark Advent told reporters.
Harrah's Entertainment, which has tabled a bid with local outfit
Keppel Land for the Marina Bay project, has also indicated interest
for the Sentosa site with the same partner.
Singapore last year lifted a ban on casino gambling in a bid to
spruce up its staid image and attract more tourists. It then
announced plans for two integrated resorts in the city-state.
The three other bidders for Marina Bay are Malaysia's Genting
International, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Mirage. - AFP/ir