Marina Bay Sands (MBS) said Friday it will make an additional upfront payment of US$1 billion to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in relation to recent revisions made to its design for its upcoming expansion project, dubbed MBS IR2.
This is in addition to an initial upfront payment of US$963 million made in 2019, when the expansion project was first announced, to lease the associated parcels of land from the STB through 21 August 2066.
According to a filing from parent firm Las Vegas Sands, MBS and the STB on 8 January entered into a Second Supplemental Agreement under which the company has committed to assume liability for the cost of the land premium associated with the purchase of additional gaming area to that previously agreed plus other land premiums resulting from changes to the expansion project’s design and floor area allocations. The agreement still requires that such floor area be used only for the purposes of hotel, gaming, retail, food and beverage, meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions and an arena at the MBS expansion project site.
MBS, which recently forecast a US$8 billion development cost for the expansion, explained that it has made various changes to its development plans since expansion was first agreed to in 2019, requiring the allocation of gross floor area across the site by the STB, plus the purchase of 2,000 square meters of approved gaming area and 10,000 square meters of ancillary area in support of the gaming area from the STB to make the planned changes.
The Second Supplemental Agreement does, however, maintain previously agreed development dates with construction to commence on 8 July 2025 and finish by 8 July 2029, respectively.
“The additional upfront payment amount under the Second Supplemental Agreement is currently anticipated to be approximately US$1 billion,” LVS said in Friday’s filing.
MBS IR2, which centers around development of a fourth hotel tower alongside the existing Singapore icon, is slated to boast its own casino amenities, including a main casino area in the podium plus “sky gaming” in the new tower, as well as 570 luxury suites, a 15,000-seat arena, 110,000 square feet of MICE space, its own SkyPark and high-end F&B.
The new costing, coming in at two-and-a-half times more than the original US$3.3 billion investment announced in 2019, comprises US$4.7 million in design and construction costs, US$2 billion in land premiums and US$1.3 billion in pre-opening and finance costs.
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