INTEGRATED RESORT PROJECT (Update)

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INTEGRATED RESORT PROJECT:

(Update): 10.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Trade and Industry if he will provide an update on the latest position on the Integrated Resort project, in light of the recent withdrawals by some bidders.

The Second Minister for Trade and Industry (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan) (for the Minister for Trade and Industry): Sir, the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Integrated Resort (IR) at Marina Bay was launched on 15th November 2005 and will close on 29th March 2006. The companies which had earlier submitted concept plans during the Request for Concepts (RFC) exercise earlier last year were invited to participate in the RFP.

During the course of the RFP process, a number of the invited companies have decided not to participate in the bid. This is not unexpected. As with any other major investment, potential investors must assess the potential returns on the project, their ability to fulfill our requirements and, of course, their assessment of their chances of success. Before deciding on whether or not to proceed with a bid, the process of preparing the proposal itself would cost each of them several million dollars. These are business decisions which each company would have to make on its own merits.

I wish to assure Members that the best Integrated Resort proposal for Singapore will, I am confident, be amongst those that we will receive at the end of the process on 29th March 2006.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo (West Coast): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister how the withdrawal of this proposal would affect the remaining proposals submitted to-date.

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Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: I do not think it will impact the preparation of the four remaining bidders, because the four of them are all world-class companies, they are all capable of generating what I believe is a compelling plan. With four bidders in the fray, there is more than sufficient competition to ensure that they have to put up good value.