19th Jan 2008
By Jean Chua and Denise Kee
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Singapore named a group led by Dragages Singapore Pte as the preferred bidder to build and operate the city-state's sports venue, at an estimated cost of S$1.2 billion ($834 million).
The Singapore government will pay the group S$1.87 billion, expressed in today's dollar value, over the next 25 years for the sporting facility. The contract will be signed in March, before construction begins on the facility, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.
``Sports, arts and culture are important components of a sophisticated society,'' said Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's minister for community development, youth and sports, at a news briefing today. ``This is a piece of a much larger jigsaw.''
Singapore, with one Olympic medal in its history, is seeking to transform itself into a hub for hosting international sporting events and to improve the standing of its athletes. The city-state will host Formula One's first night race this September, the Southeast Asian Games in 2013, and is bidding to run the 2010 Youth Olympics.
Dragages and its partners were selected because of their ``comprehensive sporting calendar'' and ``well-balanced mix of local, regional and international sporting events,'' Balakrishnan said.
``We want something simple, relevant, filled with activities and not left empty,'' Balakrishnan said. ``I hope to celebrate our National Day there in 2012.''
Largest Facility
The 55,000-seat Singapore Sports Hub will be the nation's largest sports facility to be built under a public-private partnership, where the government will pay private companies a sum of money to build and manage a public facility, Balakrishnan said. The 25-year contract, which includes a construction period, will start from the day of signing in March.
``Singapore wants to put itself on the map,'' said Alvin Liew, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. ``We're not looking at golf tournaments anymore. If we build a state-of-the-art stadium, we could hold'' international athletic meetings.
The stadium may also help develop the sports industry in Singapore and bring in tourists, Liew said. Sports events are part of the government's plan to boost attractions and double the number of visitors to 17 million by 2015 and triple tourism spending to S$30 billion.
Other attractions planned in the next three years include two casino-resorts, which will add one of Asia's biggest convention centers, and a Universal Studios theme park bigger than the Los Angeles location.
Cost Increased
The city-state will train more athletes at the sports center, which will include a swimming arena with 6,000 seats, a water-sports center, as well as education, research and training facilities.
The cost to build the sports venue has increased from previous estimates of S$800 million because of rising construction costs and additional features to the facility, Balakrishnan said.
Dragages is wholly owned by France-based Bouygues Construction, which has been involved in more than 30 public-to- private partnership projects, including the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong, according to a media statement issued at the news briefing today. Its partners include HSBC Infrastructure Fund Management Ltd. and United Premas, a unit of United Group from Australia.
The other two bidding groups were Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd., which is backed by Japanese contractor Shimizu Corp., and Austria's Alpine Mayreder Bay GmbH, with Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aHOTCpXGqFLk
