Business

Friday June 26, 2009

Genting Singapore casino set to open early next year


SINGAPORE: Genting Singapore Plc, partly owned by Asia’s biggest casino operator, said its S$6.6bil resort in Singapore is on track to open in early 2010.

Resorts World, the Genting Singapore unit building the casino, was targeting to open the first phase in February or March, Michael Chin, executive vice-president of projects at the subsidiary, told reporters yesterday on Sentosa island near Singapore.

“All efforts will be made to open as early as possible,” he said in an interview.

About 60% of the project would be ready for the so-called “soft opening” early next year, the company said yesterday in a statement. It is one of two casino resorts the government has allowed to be built in the city-state as part of its goal to lure 17 million tourists and triple annual tourism revenue to S$30bil by 2015.

The company will start building the remainder of the resort, comprising two hotels, a maritime museum and a water theme park, in early 2010. Construction would take two years, Chin said.

Construction costs comprise S$4.6bil of the total S$6.6bil, and the company holds a cost review meeting once every two weeks to ensure it is sticking to the budget, according to Chin. Resorts World also has a “conservative” target that every visitor will spend three to four days at the development. — Bloomberg

“You can easily afford a five-day family retreat,” he said. Once the resort is completely open, the company targets a minimum of 15 million visitors a year.


GENTING : [Stock Watch] [News]


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