Marina Bay Sands extension delayed to April 2023

Las Vegas Sands has said that Marina Bay Sands’s US$3.31bn renovation project will now start in April 2023.

Singapore.- Las Vegas Sands has announced that the Singapore Tourism Board has allowed it company to extend the deadline for its SGD4.5bn (US$3.31bn) expansion project at Marina Bay Sands casino resort to April 8, 2023.

In 2019, Las Vegas Sands had committed to invest S$4.5bn (US$3.3bn) in the expansion of the Marina Bay Sands hotel within eight years. However, the project was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marina Bay Sands is one half the Singapore casino duopoly alongside Genting Singapore Ltd’s Resorts World Sentosa. Both companies had planned to end expansion plans by 2025 but have seen delays.

According to Las Vegas Sands, its expansion will include an entertainment venue, a new hotel tower with a rooftop attraction, MICE facilities and exhibition halls. The company has also started a separate US$1bn renovation project at Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore has recently updated its gambling laws and created a new gambling regulatory body. It also extended the casino exclusivity of the current two operators until the end of 2030 and introduced a new tax system for gross gaming revenue (GGR).

Sands China posts US$245m net loss for Q4

As previously reported by Focus Gaming News, Sands China reported a net loss of US$245m for the last quarter of 2021. Revenue was up sequentially by 5.4 per cent to US$649m. However, the figure was down 3.9 per cent when compared to the prior-year period. Adjusted property EBITDA was US$74m, which compares to US$47m in 2020.

In full-year results, net revenues rose 70.4 per cent year-on-year to US$2.87bn while net loss was US$1.05bn, compared to US$1.52bn in 2020. Adjusted property EBITDA for 2021 stood at US$338m, compared to a negative figure of US$431m in 2020.