Resorts World at Sentosa cuts expected visitor arrivals

Resorts World at Sentosa cuts expected visitor arrivals

By Valarie Tan

SINGAPORE: Resorts World at Sentosa has cut its visitor arrivals forecast to 13 million visitors during its first year of operations, down from an earlier estimate of 15 million, due to the global financial meltdown.

The operator is also projecting a lowered 13 per cent internal rate of return for the integrated resort.

The resort is still very much a work in progress, but Resorts World at Sentosa said it expects two-thirds of its attractions and hotels to be completed by the first quarter of 2010.

These include the casino, which will be located at basement one, near the luxury Maxims Hotel.

Fittings will start in August for rides and shows at Universal Studios Singapore, including the 3,500-seater Waterworld and the world’s tallest duelling roller coasters.

Despite cutting back on expected visitors for the first year, Resorts World is confident of attracting the crowd as the economy improves.

Michael Chin, executive vice-president of projects at the Resorts World at Sentosa, said: “We take a bit of precaution at reviewing our numbers. But as the economy picks up, things turn up, I’m sure the numbers will look better for us.”

“Our focus is on the Asia market, within the seven-hour flight radius. We’re looking at markets like China and India.”

To complement the neighbouring shopping centre, Vivocity, Resorts World is in talks for niche tenants for its 500-metre stretch of retail, food and beverage outlets - also expected to be ready in early 2010.

So far, it has secured Malaysia’s luxury goods retailer Valiram, which owns the Jimmy Choo brand.

Construction for the second and final phase of Resorts World will start early next year, and is expected to be completed in two years. It will include two new hotels, a spa and a Marina Life Park.

Tenders have not been called, but Resorts World said it will keep construction costs within the overall S$6.6 billion budget.

- CNA/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 26 June 2009

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Hotel site at New Bridge Road to be launched for public tender

Hotel site at New Bridge Road to be launched for public tender

By Tang See Kit

SINGAPORE: The government will launch a tender for a hotel site at New Bridge Road in two weeks’ time, after a developer committed to at least S$43,888,888 for the land parcel.

The site is under the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales programme.

It has an area of about 0.45 hectares and will be able to generate a maximum permissible gross floor area of about 15,687 square metres with a lease period of 99 years.

The site is located within the Chinatown Historic District, and can be developed into a boutique hotel.

Under the Reserve List system, a site will be put up for sale only if a developer commits to bid at or above the minimum price which is acceptable to the government.

- CNA/yb

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 26 June 2009

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60% of Sentosa IR will be ready when it opens

60% of Sentosa IR will be ready when it opens
Casino and theme park to open in first quarter; fewer visitors expected due to tough economy
By Lim Wei Chean

Construction of the 49ha integrated resort on Sentosa is ongoing. When it opens early next year, the casino, the university Studios theme park, the theatre, four hotels as well as the retail and dining area are expected to be ready, but not other facilities such as the oceanarium.

THE Sentosa integrated resort (IR) is all set to throw open its doors in the first quarter of next year - but visitors will not get to see the finished product.

When the resort opens, just 60 per cent of it will be ready: four hotels, the casino, the Universal Studios theme park, the theatre and the retail and dining area.

Construction of the other attractions at the 49ha resort - including the world’s largest oceanarium, a marine museum and two more hotels - will begin next year and is slated for completion by 2012.

Giving an update on the progress of the IR yesterday, Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) executive vice-president of projects Michael Chin said some 80 per cent of construction for the first phase of the resort has been completed.

What remain to be done are exterior works and outfitting the rides for the theme park.

This should be completed by August.

After that, the resort will be testing the rides and other amenities, and getting staff up to speed on operations.

Asked about prices for the rides, the resort’s head of communications Krist Boo declined to give details. But she said that charges would be kept ‘affordable’ and that they would be competitive when compared with other theme parks.

She added that prices would be comparable and likely cheaper, dollar-for-dollar, than those at Universal Studios’ other parks in Orlando and Osaka, where day passes go for US$70 (S$100) and 6,000 yen (S$90), respectively.

Ms Boo acknowledged that there are some clouds on the horizon for the IR.

Because of the tough economic times, the resort would have to slash its visitor forecast for the first year from 15 million to 12 million, she said.

She added that it had also lowered the expected growth rate of returns on investment for the $6.59 billion project by one to two percentage points from the previously projected 15 per cent.

Spending by visitors is also expected to be less, she said, but did not elaborate.

Also, there are no takers for some of the retail space at the resort.

‘To be honest, the retail landscape is a little challenging now,’ she said.

Despite these concerns, however, the Sentosa IR is still confident of pulling in large crowds.

‘For visitors in this region, they don’t have to travel too far to enjoy a world-class attraction,’ she noted.

The resort’s main target will be visitors from countries within a seven-hour flight range of Singapore.

The exact date of the IR’s opening is expected to be firmed up by the end of the year.

Singapore’s other IR, the Marina Bay Sands, is also scheduled to open in stages, with the first opening expected at the end of this year.

Source : Straits Times - 26 June 2009

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ABC guide to green design for developers

ABC guide to green design for developers

By Victoria Vaughan

RAIN gardens and plant-covered condominiums could become commonplace if new design guidelines from the PUB are implemented by developers.

The guide, part of the Active Beautiful Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme, is aimed at developers, both public and private, and details ways in which drainage systems and water features can filter rainwater before it reaches the canals and reservoirs.

One of the ways this can be done is by using bioswales or rain gardens - shallow ditches containing top soil and plants with drainage pipes beneath. The top soil acts as a filtration system, slowing down and cleansing the water before it reaches the public drains, cutting down on dirt and reducing surges.

The founder of city planning firm Atelier Dreiseitl Asia, Mr Herbert Dreiseitl, who contributed to the drafting of the guidelines, said the process mimics nature. ‘Rainwater very quickly goes down drains, taking all litter, rubbish and dirt with it to the the reservoirs. Top soil is like a treatment plant - it can filter out nitrates and phosphates, as a forest does, and it can really purify the water perfectly.’ The hope is that this will one day lead to cleaner reservoirs and thus cut down on treatment costs.

DP Architects director Tai Lee Siang, who is on the programme’s review panel, said that with climate change having a high profile, more developers are now taking an interest in green buildings. ‘It will be interesting to know if the private sector will take it up. For very small projects…it won’t be easy as there are already many constraints with land and cost pressures, but for larger projects, it will be considered.’

One private developer already implementing such ideas is GuocoLand Group, which was praised by Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Environment and Water Resources) Amy Khor at yesterday’s launch.

Its up and coming Goodwood Residence and Sophia Residence projects both have water recycling systems and have won the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum Award - the highest accolade for green buildings here.

Green Mark points await developers which implement the ABC guidelines, and PUB director of catchment and waterways Tan Nguan Sen hopes the BCA will up the allotted points for ABC features.

He said the guidelines are not mandatory now.

There are now about 10 private-sector projects looking at incorporating water recycling in their designs, he said.

The guide is the final part of the ABC Waters Programme, launched in 2006 to transform Singapore’s 15 reservoirs, 32 major rivers and 7,000km of waterways into places of beauty for recreation.

Source : Straits Times - 26 June 2009

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URA tender for hotel site coming up

URA tender for hotel site coming up

By UMA SHANKARI

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will launch a public tender for a hotel site at New Bridge Road in two weeks’ time, it said yesterday.

The 0.45ha site was made available for sale through the government’s reserve list system in April 2007. Under the reserve list system, the government will put up a site for public tender only if it receives an application from a developer who commits to bid for the site at or above the minimum price which is acceptable to the government.

URA said that it has received an application from a developer who has committed to bid at a price of not less than $43.9 million for the land parcel, which triggers the public tender.

Analysts said that interest seems to be returning to small development sites with good attributes.

Earlier this month, a government tender for a small hotel site on Short Street closed with a whopping 14 valid bids received. The number of bids - 15 in all, including one bid judged invalid because it was below the minimum bid price - is one of the highest received for a Government Land Sales tender.

The New Bridge Road site, which can house a boutique hotel development with about 200 rooms, is also thought to be attractive as it is very close to Outram Park MRT Station and should receive several bids, analysts said. It has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 168,853 sq ft.

Source : Business Times - 26 June 2009

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H1N1 flu comes to Raffles Place

H1N1 flu comes to Raffles Place

50 CIMB remisiers sent on home quarantine after one of them catches virus from his son; ministry expects H1N1 cases to rise

By VEN SREENIVASAN

(SINGAPORE) It was just a matter of time, but the H1N1 flu has finally landed in the heart of Singapore’s financial district.

CIMB Securities yesterday ordered 50 of its remisiers at its Raffles Place office to go on home quarantine after one of them caught the H1N1 virus from his son.

The company said it has activated its business contingency plan, which requires all staff of the entire trading floor where the infected person was located to be home-quarantined for seven days. The development comes even as the Ministry of Health indicated yesterday that it expected a rise in H1N1 cases in the days to come.

‘Fortunately, we had our contingency plan in place, so we were prepared when this happened,’ said company spokeswoman, Chow Hooi Chin.

Besides putting in place measures to minimise physical interaction between different teams of brokers, the company is also splitting teams for back-office operations so that each department will have the necessary staff required to undertake the daily operations of the business, she added.

Daily temperature checks have also been initiated and heads of departments have been told to monitor staff for flu-like symptoms. Information on all visitors is recorded and travel histories of all employees logged.

Meanwhile, the infected broker has been hospitalised. He caught the virus from his teenage son, who had been infected at the Butter Factory, a night spot across from Fullerton Hotel. The popular club has been identified as a cluster with five H1N1 cases linked to it as of this week.

The quarantined brokers’ phone lines have been re-routed to their home or mobile lines. Brokers can then initiate orders either via the company’s Internet platform or by calling into its central buying desk.

‘It is a bit of an inconvenience, but things are still working as they should,’ Ms Chow said.

CIMB is one of Singapore’s fastest growing financial houses, with about 700 staffers in its securities side - including 300 brokers - and another 200 staff at its banking unit.

This is the first time any major player within the local financial industry has faced the H1N1 threat at its operating premises. But with some 200 cases of the flu confirmed islandwide, most brokerages and banks have been quietly preparing for the eventuality.

DBS Vickers Securities’ chief executive Edmund Lee said his company had prepared its business contingency plans.

‘We have pandemic plans in place, and this include splitting operations between our main location at PWC Building and ComTech,’ he explained. ‘If someone is sick, we will send the entire team home to operate. Arrangements will be made for clients to continue speaking to them. Meanwhile, we have taken measures to minimise interaction between brokers on different floors.’

Meanwhile, at Citibank, even staff travelling overseas on business are monitored for symptoms of the flu. ‘Citi is committed to taking necessary precautions to ensure the health and well-being of our clients and employees,’ a spokesman said.

‘Our Continuity of Business Taskforce has been monitoring the H1N1 situation closely and has implemented contingency plans. Staff who return from overseas travel have been advised to closely monitor their health and if they feel unwell, to immediately seek medical help and advice.’

Meanwhile, Singapore may see a rise in the number of H1N1 flu cases even as the traditional flu season tails off.

Already, the proportion of H1N1 cases among samples from influenza surveillance has been climbing sharply.

It rose from about 2 per cent for the first three days starting June 17 when H1N1 was first registered on the surveillance, to 4.7 per cent on June 22.

‘We can expect to see exponential rises (in the percentage),’ said Lyn James, director of the communicable diseases division at the Ministry of Health.

The trend in Singapore mirrors that of the US, where the buildup of H1N1 cases has resulted in another peak in influenza positive tests reported to its Centers for Disease Control.

The trend may see Singapore move from the containment stage to the mitigation stage. But this will only happen once the proportion of H1N1 cases in the flu surveillance sample hit 15 per cent, said K Satku, director of medical services at MOH,

‘Only then it is worthwhile for us to start treating without testing because we want to make sure that the people receiving the medication will benefit from it,’ he said.

Lim Poh Lian, senior infectious disease consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, stressed the need to keep vigilant as there is a lag between the disease first hitting a community and cases of mortality. She also pointed out that once the number of cases starts to rise, even a low death rate would imply that there are still lives to be saved.

(With additional reporting by ZHANG YI TING)

Source : Business Times - 26 June 2009

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