MBS expansion to be completed by July 2029, including fourth tower

SINGAPORE: Marina Bay Sands (MBS) will complete its expansion by July 2029, in a project that will see the erection of a fourth tower and a 15,000-seat entertainment arena.

Full-scale construction is expected to start by July next year, said MBS in a news release on Friday (Apr 5).

The expansion will include: A luxury hotel tower with a sky roof, a 15,000-seat entertainment arena, more MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences & exhibitions) space as well as new food and beverage and nightlife offerings.

In January, MBS received approval by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to develop the tower on a plot bordered by Bayfront Avenue, Sheares Avenue and Sheares Link - next to the hotel's current three towers. 

According to URA data, the new tower will have 153,100 sq m of hotel space with 587 rooms and 12,185 sq m of retail space.

In an expansion plan unveiled back in 2019, the fourth tower was slated to have 1,000 "all-suite" hotel rooms. But when asked by CNA in January about the drop in the number of rooms, MBS declined to provide more information. 

The expansion is designed by the architects of the existing property - Safdie Architects. An artist’s impression provided by MBS on Friday shows the entertainment arena sitting between the upcoming fourth tower and the current three towers. 

A previous artist's impression showed the new tower right next to the three towers, with the arena at the far end.

MBS said that the expansion will play an "important role" in attracting more visitors to Singapore. 

President and chief operating officer of MBS' parent company Las Vegas Sands, Patrick Dumont, said: "With the ongoing support of the Singapore government, this development will further enhance the leisure and business tourism appeal of Singapore.

"This significant investment in Singapore will help ensure MBS is ideally positioned to grow its economic, employment and visitorship contributions in the years ahead.”

The expansion - expected to cost about US$3.3 billion (S$4.5 billion) - had encountered delays since its announcement.

It was initially slated to be completed in 2025 but it was pushed back to 2026 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Following that, in a filing by MBS' parent company to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb 3 last year, it said that work on the project was not likely to begin in April 2023 as planned at the time.

MBS was then given until April 2024 to begin the project, with its completion deadline extended to Apr 8, 2028 – three years after its original deadline.

The expansion project is separate from a US$1.75 billion reinvestment in the existing property. Refurbishments have been completed in Hotel Towers 1 and 2 and are now focused on the third tower, the hotel lobby and Sands SkyPark.

MBS opened in 2010 at a development cost of US$5.6 billion. The integrated resort directly employs more than 11,500 people.