The Resorts World at Sentosa has an updated bulletin that includes an update, pictures, and a webcast. Click here to check it out.
GrandPrix.com gave an update on the construction of Singapore’s Grand Prix track. Alot is happening in Singapore over the next few years - Marina Bay Sands casino, Resorts World at Sentosa Islad casino, Singapore Flyer, the Singapore Grand Prix, and much, much more.
Singapore began construction work for its Formula 1 race on Friday with a ground-breaking ceremony at the Marina Bayfront, where the pit buildings will be constructed. The 350m-long, three-storey building will house the race control, media centre, garages and VIP hospitality. It is not clear what use it will have for the rest of the year. The building work is expected to take nine months and there is therefore plenty of time to get everything in place before the first race, which is scheduled to take place on September 28 next year. The building will cost around $20m. The design features extensive use of glass to provide the VIPs and media with views of the start-finish straight.
Singapore’s Land Transport Authority will begin its work on the roads next month. This will include the construction of a 0.75-mile section of road at the eastern end of the circuit and will include an underpass and access roads elsewhere by the pit buildings, widening of the promenade between the existing outdoor seating gallery and the floating platform in Marina Bay, widening of Raffles Boulevard and modifications to existing kerbs and traffic islands. The circuit design is yet to be fully finalised but around 70% of the track will be on the existing roads.
The following is taken from the LVRJ.com describing an interview a Las Vegas Sands exec had regarding their Marina Bay casino in Singapore. One can’t help but wonder if the other Singapore casino, Resort World at Sentosa, is having the same difficulty.
A day after opening the $2.4 billion Venetian Macau in China, Las Vegas Sands Corp. officials said costs had risen on the company’s Singapore project.
In an interview with Asian media attending the opening of the resort on Macau’s Cotai Strip, Las Vegas Sands President Bill Weidner said construction costs on the Marina Bay Sands may rise some 20 percent to 40 percent above the original $3.6 billion budget by the time the hotel-casino is completed in 2009.
Higher construction costs, the price of sand, and design changes in the project are being blamed for the increase. In January, Indonesia banned the export of sand to Singapore, while stricter checks on barges also disrupted granite supplies.
“We’re struggling, quite frankly, to stay within our budget,” Weidner told a Singapore newspaper.
A 40 percent increase would add $1.4 billion to the cost of the planned 2,500-room hotel, which will have 1.2 million square feet of convention space, a 1 million square-foot retail center and three entertainment venues.