Marina Bay Sands eyes Singapore expansion
Less than a year after Marina Bay Sands opened its doors, the company wants to expand its facilities in response to strong demand.
“We are already running out of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) space,” said Sheldon Adelson, chairman of parent company Las Vegas Sands (LVS).
“I’ve told the government that we need some more land ..if they want to give me ten times more land, I won’t turn it down.”
LVS chief operating officer Michael Leven told a media conference that Singapore will need more hotel rooms to accommodate the 17 million annual visitors it aims to attract by 2015.
“Demand is going to be higher than supply very shortly as the entire hospitality industry is running at over 80 per cent occupancy,†said Leven, who is eyeing two plots in the Marina Bay area for hospitality developments.
Adelson said that the Asian gaming market had unlimited growth potential. “I don’t think there’s going to be any limit in this market. We will continue to grow, the only thing that I can’t say with surety is how much.”
LVS also announced it is “very actively pursuing” plans to build a Las Vegas-style casino strip in Spain.
Adelson told the Foreign Correspondents Association in Singapore that Las Vegas Sands is already in talks with city officials from Barcelona and Madrid to build a gaming strip in either of their cities.
“I want to build like 20,000-plus rooms and millions of square feet of shopping and MICE space.
“This will cost close to 10 to 15 billion euros. No private sector company has ever invested that kind of money, and we need the support of the (Spanish) government,” he said.
Ian Jarrett
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