The Marina Bay Sands™ on track and set to roll in 2009

The cranes line the skyline, construction is happening at a frenzied pace – how is progress going and how is the Sands team preparing for the 2009 opening? P@ssport gets the story from Mr George Tanasijevich, Vice President, Singapore Development, Marina Bay Sands™ Pte Ltd.

Q: What challenges did Las Vegas Sands face in developing a high-profile, mega project like The Marina Bay Sands™, where the eyes of the nation are on you and there are high expectations?

Our vision for The Marina Bay Sands™ is to create a world-class destination that will increase Singapore's business and leisure tourism appeal. This project has many of the same challenges of other major developments.

However, the risk is mitigated as a result of the quality of resources available in Singapore, including the country's well-educated and highly-skilled labour pool and our close cooperation and coordination with the Singapore Government. Additionally, as an organisation, we have the expertise to deal with these challenges and we're happy to report that The Marina Bay Sands™ remains on track for a late 2009 opening.

Q: What's going on behind the hoardings? Can you give an update on the project's development?

We continue to make steady progress on construction and other development activities for The Marina Bay Sands™. Currently, we have approximately 150 in-house members of our MBS construction team and over 1,100 workers on site working on a 24/7 basis.

Q: How will the opening of MBS change the Singapore tourism landscape?

What we're proposing to do here in Singapore is to bring something new to the market, not to replicate what already exists here. The Marina Bay Sands™ will be a new landmark in Singapore's vibrant downtown, bringing together a collection of state-of-the-art meeting and convention facilities, internationally-renowned restaurants, a five-star hotel and an unrivalled spread of retail and entertainment outlets.

We are confident that we have a compelling, refreshing product that will offer both leisure visitors and MICE* delegates unique and memorable experiences to draw them to Singapore again and again. In turn, The Marina Bay Sands™ will create more and better opportunities for Singaporeans, from job seekers to business owners.

Q: How will MBS be different from The Venetian Macao which recently opened? How will MBS position Singapore vis-a-vis Macau?

Our developments in Singapore and Macau are very different destinations targeted at separate markets. While both The Marina Bay Sands™ and The Venetian Macao are large-scale luxury integrated resorts that will add tremendous buzz to Singapore and Macau respectively, they are each able to offer unique attractions to draw international visitors.

The Venetian Macao is very much modeled after The Venetian in Las Vegas and prides itself on bringing the culture and landmarks of Venice to Asia for visitors within the region. The look and feel of The Marina Bay Sands™ will be very different. Our architect Moshe Safdie has created a distinctive and iconic design which will become one of the symbols of Singapore for people across the world and change the cityscape dramatically.

Both destinations will be able to complement each other to a large extent and make Asia a more attractive and prominent destination for foreign tourists. Our presence in both North and Southeast Asia will allow us to attract visitors from all over the region. We expect to see strong momentum from our cross-marketing activities for the Singapore and Macau developments.

Q: Shortage of manpower in the tourism sector is a major challenge in Singapore. How is MBS meeting that challenge?

As one of the Singapore economy's growth engines, the tourism and hospitality sector is set to become even more vibrant with major developments like The Marina Bay Sands™, and will offer many exciting and rewarding career opportunities for people here.

We are working in conjunction with the Ministry of Manpower, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and a number of educational institutions to address our needs and ensure there is a ready pool of skilled workers for our opening in 2009.

MBS will also invest significantly in training initiatives for its employees to develop a team with the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver high levels of service and meet the needs of the Singapore community.

Q: How will events such as the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix benefit the MBS and Singapore as a destination?

As a regional hub for tourism, Singapore will be able to attract tourists from Southeast Asia, (especially Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia), China, India, Japan, Korea and beyond. A high-profile global event like the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix will also be able to generate additional buzz and excitement in Singapore and draw large numbers of foreign visitors.

MBS welcomes other industry players who can offer their own unique attractions that complement ours, to join us in enhancing Singapore's status as a world-class travel destination.

Q: What are the pre-marketing activities planned for the MBS?

We have made significant progress in our pre-marketing events for the retail and MICE space at The Marina Bay Sands™. Leveraging our global network of MICE clients, MBS' MICE team has already engaged with several established international MICE organisers.

MBS has also been participating actively in international events and tradeshows, often in conjunction with the Singapore Tourism Board. We're also working closely with the Government and industry partners to promote Singapore as a leading travel destination as we prepare to launch in 2009.

*MICE stands for Meetings, Incentive travel, Conventions and Exhibitions