Marina Bay Sands expansion to complete in 2026, $1.35b hotel renovation also under way

Kang Wan Chern
Assistant Business Editor

Feb 3, 2022

SINGAPORE - Las Vegas Sands (LVS) said its US$3.3 billion (S$4.45 billion) expansion of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is on track to complete in 2026, a year after its 2025 deadline, as the casino giant bets on a recovery in tourism.

At the US company's 2021 fourth-quarter results briefing last Wednesday (Jan 26), LVS chairman and chief executive Robert Goldstein also said that renovation work totalling US$1 billion (S$1.35 billion) at MBS' hotel properties is under way.

The update comes after Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan noted in Parliament on Jan 10 that the extent of delays to the expansion of Singapore's two integrated resorts remains unclear.

Mr Tan said MBS and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) had both flagged potential delays due to disruptions to the construction industry as a result of the pandemic.

In its third-quarter results briefing last year, LVS had stated that its target for completion of the MBS expansion was 2025.

This is now on track for 2026, according to LVS. In spite of labour and supply chain risks, images show that construction at MBS has been "moving at a very good pace", Mr Goldstein said.

The two integrated resorts had announced expansion plans totalling $9 billion in 2019. These include adding a fourth tower consisting of a 1,000-room luxury hotel and a 15,000-seat entertainment arena to the MBS development. Rival RWS will add two new zones to Universal Studios Singapore - Minion Park and Super Nintendo World - as well as a new oceanarium.



The US$1 billion MBS renovation project, which will bring "luxurious (hotel) suite products" to Towers One and Two, will "significantly enhance our appeal to premium clients", said Mr Goldstein.

These upgrades are expected to be completed in phases between this year and next.

LVS chief operating officer Patrick Dumont added that the company has been working with the Singapore Tourism Board on its focus on high-quality tourism. "We think MBS is a leader in that area and want to reinvest in the property while we have some downtime."

The developments also underscore a growing confidence of a pickup in Singapore tourism from this year onwards as travel impediments and other Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed.

Mr Goldstein said the group is hopeful of "a big bounce" in demand once vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) are "fully open". He noted that the increase in non-Singaporean visitors to MBS was "evident" after VTLs between the Republic and countries such as Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea were launched in November and December last year.

In a Jan 27 report, analysts Vincent Khoo and Jack Goh of brokerage UOB Kay Hian noted that VTLs to and from Singapore will allow its gaming industry "to see meaningful international footfall recovery, which will subsequently lift its gross gaming revenue prospects".

During the fourth quarter of last year, MBS' adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 23 per cent year on year to US$177 million. This was achieved on revenues of US$368 million, up 6.7 per cent in the same period.

UOB Kay Hian is expecting a "similarly solid quarter" from Genting Singapore, which owns RWS, when the company announces its results on Feb 17.

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