Casino developer Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS) broke ground on Tuesday for the second phase of its Marina Bay Sands complex in Singapore. It is expected the expansion project will be completed by June 2030 and open in January 2031, according to corporate information.
Tuesday’s ceremony was officiated by Singapore’s Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai; and the city-state’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Grace Fu Hai Yien. Also in attendance were Las Vegas Sands co-founder Miriam Adelson; the casino firm’s chairman and chief executive Robert Goldstein; and the group’s president and chief operating officer, Patrick Dumont.
Addressing about 200 guests at the occasion, Mr Wong described the investment proposed by Las Vegas Sands in 2005, five years before the opening of Marina Bay sands, as a “bold commitment”.
“It was… a major investment, underpinned by confidence in Singapore, and in Singapore’s future,” he said, as cited by The Straits Times newspaper.
“I’m glad this partnership has flourished, and I’m even happier that we are now taking it to the next level,” Mr Wong added.
The expansion project – designed by Safdie Architects, and dubbed “MBS 2.0” – will feature a new 55-storey, 570-suite hotel tower. It will offer additional gaming space, as well as restaurants, retail shops, a spa and other wellness amenities.
Situated adjacent to the new hotel tower, the podium will house 200,000 square feet (18,580 sq. metres) of space for meetings, and a 15,000-seat arena. The latter will be designed by global architectural and design firm Populous Holdings Inc, a company responsible for venues such as the Sphere in Las Vegas, in the United States, and the O2 Arena in London, in the United Kingdom.
“Marina Bay sands is the world’s most successful integrated resort in history, and the gold standard in the industry,” stated Mr Goldstein in prepared remarks in a press release issued by Las Vegas Sands.
“We have every intention of delivering a product that will be the envy of the hospitality industry and ushers in a new era of luxury tourism in Singapore,” he added.
In January, Las Vegas Sands announced an agreement between the Marina Bay Sands’ operator – its subsidiary Marina Bay Sands Pte Ltd – and the Singapore Tourism Board, allowing the firm to increase the overall gaming area allocation for the expansion project, among other amendments. In return, Las Vegas Sands agreed to pay US$1 billion to the Singapore authorities.
In February, Marina Bay Sands Pte entered into a SGD12.00-billion (US$9.34-billion currently) credit facility agreement. At least part of the funds will be used directly to finance the expansion of the Marina Bay Sands complex.
Tuesday’s announcement cited Las Vegas Sands’ COO, Mr Dumont, as saying: “By the time our new ultra-luxury development is complete, Las Vegas Sands will have invested more than US$15 billion since we started operations in Singapore in 2010. This speaks volumes of our confidence in this region, and the potential that we continue to see in Singapore.”
In May, Marina Bay Sands – one half of Singapore’s casino resort duopoly – announced that hotel room renovations at the three existing towers had been completed, meaning the property had a “full inventory” of approximately 1,850 rooms, including 775 suites.
It marked the complex’s “most significant milestone” in its US$1.75-billion multi-year refurbishment programme, according to a statement from Marina Bay Sands Pte at the time.
