Singapore on Top of The Casino Game

Singapore is redeveloping its urban heart as investment from business, gaming and tourism pour in. Where have we seen something similar? Yes, in Macau. The methods, however, are quite different

Does Macau’s growth seem wild? Does it appear to be done in pieces, according to investors’ whishes with no apparent global strategy or group notion? Well, you might not be far from the truth if you ponder these questions. And suppose the government seemed inclined to pound its fist on the table and impose some rules. What would they do? They might do well to take a look at the examples set by Singapore. In that city, development and land concessions are as transparent as possible. There, deals are done according to five-year revisions from a master plan conceived in the 1950′s. Detailed information is available online to everybody at all times.

Like in Macau, the Singaporean government wishes to free land to investors in an effort to make the city grow in an integrated way. But contrary to what has happened several times in Macau, the available areas are perfectly and rigidly defined. In Singapore, whoever is lucky enough to get their hands on property is not allowed to change the construction purpose. If one area is to be developed for residential use, they can only build residences on it. And if a plan doesn’t allow any residential use, there is absolutely no way to convince the government otherwise; even if the well being of the population is invoked.

How did Singapore get it straight? In 1952, Singapore’s master plan began to be designed. It took three years to be finalised and was approved in 1958. Obviously, their intention was to reach a global vision of the city’s growth: organised, coherent, framed according to the needs of residential and commercial development, as well as tourism, services, etc. On the government’s website (www.ura.gov.sg), one can read that, “The Master Plan is the statutory land use plan which guides Singapore’s development in the medium term, over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed once every five years, and translates the broad long-term strategies as set out in the Concept Plan into detailed implementable plans for Singapore. It shows the permissible land use and density for every parcel of land in Singapore”. Pretty straight-forward, isn’t it?

Containing 330 maps, the plan shows the medium term planning intention for a location in terms of its allowable land use intention and development intensity. According to Mark Goh of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), procedural transparency is Singapore’s “best weapon” for safe development. The plans include the list of monuments whose areas cannot be put at risk. They also include natural parks and reserves and growth ratios. In addition, they impose unchangeable limits that investors’ will power can’t modify.

Marina Bay
Las Vegas Sands’ success in obtaining an integrated resort concession in Singapore (the other is located in Sentosa )  is part of the urban “revolution” currently underway at the heart of the city. Billions of dollars are being invested in residential, commercial, tourism and leisure projects that aim to maintain the city’s position as one of the world’s most competitive capitals. With nearly six thousand multinational companies and economic growth expectations of five percent, Singapore was ranked by the World Bank as the world’s most business-friendly economy in 2005-2006.

Like in Macau, land is an extremely precious commodity in Singapore. Mark Goh said that nothing is left to chance and all details are carefully planned in the city state. “Marina Bay is the last track of land left and the key area for development in the city centre in the next 15 to 20 years. There are other areas being developed, like One North, which is being developed more as a science and research sort of hub and Sentosa and Southern islands as resort and recreation destinations”, says Goh. As such, all details regarding land concessions, land prices and projects are available online for anyone who cares to consult them.

This is another aspect where things work much differently from Macau; where information is scarce and where a global vision of projects and investment is sorely lacking. Indeed, this myopic outlook is something members of Macau’s Legislative Assembly complain about bitterly.

Projects
From all land sites sold in Marina Bay, the Sands integrated resort is the biggest. Its price was set at the beginning by the government, regardless of the eventual winner. It reached 1.2 billion S$ (around six billion HK$). This price is so much more than Macau’s land costs that it validates the opinion of those who consider that local land is just being “given away”.

Prices aside, the proposed Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (IR) will be a world class development. Designed by Moshe Safdie, it will house a casino, two theatres,  a 110,000 sqm meeting-and-convention facility, as well as three 50-storey hotel towers. The IR will also provide 117,000 sqm of retail space, restaurants and bars, and floating crystal pavilions accessible via submerged tunnels.

It will also have a 20,500 sqm Art &Science Museum and an amphitheatre for 3,000 people. In total, LVS is investing over US$ three billion. But this is not the only project. Far from it. “Within Marina Bay sites already sold, including Sands, [investments] it’s over 45 billion HK dollars (over 5.6 billion USD)”, Mark Goh told Macau Business.

Sold in 2001 to a consortium led by Keppel Land, Hong Kong Land and Cheung Kong Holdings for HK$ 2.1 billion through public tender, One Raffles Quay is the new landmark in Singapore’s downtown district. It also includes an underground air-conditioned retail link leading to Raffles Place MTR, a hub car park and a District Cooling System plant. Comprising two office towers that are linked, the large-scale development has a total of about 123,000 sqm of space leased to premium tenants such as ABN, MARO, Deutshe Bank, UBS, Barclays, Capital, Ernst & Young, Societ?0,4 General and other corporate titans.

This consortium was also the 2005 winner of the 438,000 sqm Marina Bay Financial Centre. The land cost them over HK$ nine billion, but the MBFC is slated for the development of state-of-the-art offices (60 percent). The remaining areas will be for residential and recreation facilities.

Phase one comprises two office towers of 32 and 46 storeys and one residential tower of 55 storeys. The project is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Also through public tender (which is opposite to what the Macau Government seems to prefer to utilise), “The Sail” is a luxurious six-star residential development by City Development Limited and AIG Global Real estate Investment Corp. The land alone cost them almost HK$.1.5 billion. The 245-metre condominium will be the tallest residential development in Singapore when it is completed in 2009, with tower one standing at 70-storeys and tower two at 63-storeys.

Quality of life
Last year, another piece of Singaporean land was sold for over HK$ 800 million. But besides private investments, including the construction of Singapore’s version of the London Eye ( the 165-metre-high observation wheel that will provide a radial view of 45 km spanning Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) their government is also set on improving its citizen’s quality of life. “So far the government has committed two billion S$ [over HK$10 billion] into infrastructure of Marina Bay. To build the new MRT line, cables and so on and to prepare the land for sale”, explains Mark Goh.

But Singapore is not forgetting about public leisure areas. Building on the city’s green legacy, three “world class” waterfront gardens have been planned. “Each garden will feature a distinctive design and character. A 11.7 km long promenade and connection bridges will link the gardens, forming a continuous waterfront loop that offers a respite to the dense urban environment”, explains the URA. To be completed around 2010, the gardens “will be the green sanctuary for people as well as those working and living in Marina Bay or visiting the city”, promises the Singapore government. “Unlike other cities, we can grow within the city through good planning”, concludes Mark Goh.

Macau’s land starved denizens couldn’t agree more!

Originally posted 2007-04-06 08:48:10. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Singapore Starts On Marina Bay Sands Construction started Thursday on Singapore's first casino resort expected to revitalize the tourism and convention sectors, boost jobs and inject billions into the economy. The awarding of the 5-billion-Singapore-dollar (3.6...
• Singapore's gamble WITH its three high-rise towers topped by a sweeping open-air SkyPark, the Marina Bay Sands casino, which opened on April 27th, is a striking addition to the Singapore skyline. It...
• Singapore Places Dual Wager With Massive New Casinos Anxious to boost revenues in a time of economic uncertainty, the Singapore government legalized gambling. It sold lucrative gaming licenses and levied a tax on winnings. But the advent of...

• Investing in Real Estate in Kefalonia Lined with world-class beaches, Kefalonia island in Greece is definitely a traveler’s paradise. This is the reason why a rising number of UK and overseas property buyers are planning to...
• AT&T’s “Unlimited” data plan for the iPad 3G to actually be unlimited Gasp! AT&T’s “Unlimited” data plan for the iPad 3G to actually be unlimited by Greg Kumparak on April 7, 2010 I’m trying to keep the iPad-related posts here on MobileCrunch...
• What Happens When The Banks Pay Back TARP Money? Goldman Sachs says they're ready to pay back TARP money, but what happens once they do it? To some of you I'm sure there is nothing that gets your jollies...