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SINGAPORE : The S$5 billion Marina Bay Sands project is forging ahead on many fronts, barely nine months after US-based company Las Vegas Sands was awarded the tender to build one of two integrated resorts in Singapore.
At a ceremony to mark a development milestone at the site on Thursday, Sands said it was committed to deliver on its promise of creating jobs and boosting visitor arrivals.
Las Vegas Sands has set its sight on being a part of Singapore's transformation into a global city, promising to offer a range of well paying and good quality jobs to Singaporeans.
It is expected to hire over 10,000 people, with the majority of the positions going to locals.
Much of the recruitment will be done at a later stage, but the operator is hoping to build up a database of potential employees by participating in a job fair next month.
It is also committed to re-skill workers and recruit older people.
Sheldon Adelson, Chairman & CEO, Las Vegas Sands, said, "It occurred to me to ask what the perception of older people are here, they said 40s and 50s. We think (people in their) 40s and 50s are probably the best employees..."
The operator is currently in negotiations with 15 international organisations on holding their conferences at the resort.
Its meeting, convention and exhibition space is also proving to be popular, with booking enquiries lined up till 2013.
Sands said it might consider expanding its MICE capacity.
On the retail front, it is working with leasing specialists in the US, Europe and Asia.
The Las Vegas Sands team has received interest from over 250 prospective tenants for retail and F&B space at the resort.
So far, some 400 brands and concepts have been pitched and the Las Vegas Sands team expects this to go up to 700 concepts by the middle of the year.
The question now is in selecting the right tenant mix.
The resort will add 2,500 premium hotel rooms to the market.
And Sands is confident occupancy rate will match that of its Las Vegas properties, at 95 to 97 percent.
William Weidner, President & COO, Las Vegas Sands, said, "We've signed up 56 different tour organisations that are interested in IR packaging process. The good thing about what we are doing in this process is - now we get to vet which of those are most successful in filling the room blocks and the quality of the people that they bring."
There were some early glitches during construction; extra work to remove large rocks underground, and Indonesia's ban on sand export pushing up costs of sand from alternative sources by 15 to 30 percent due to transportation costs.
But these have been budgeted for, with 5-10 percent of the budget being set aside for unforeseen circumstances.
And the project is set to lift the construction sector and boost tourism.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said, "Its successful award has created confidence, confidence that we are prepared to change, prepared to take risk(s), and to reach consensus on a difficult decision and to move."
Marina Bay Sands is on track to open in the second half of 2009.
The operator anticipates it will make up a third of Sands' total operations. - CNA/ms
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