Singapore is all set to shed its strait-laced image after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced Monday that his government had decided to give the go-ahead for two casinos. Besides altering Singapore’s image, the move is expected to revitalize the city-state’s economy.
The decision to build two integrated casino resorts worth $3 billion in Singapore is the first major policy decision taken by the premier since assuming office in August. Building the casino resorts would cost about $2 billion each and expected to bring in revenues of approximately $2.1 billion a year from tourism.
It would help Singapore get a share of Aisa’s gambling industry which generates about $14 billion a year. It will also be able to recover a good portion of the $180 million that Singaporeans spend at casinos in neighboring Malaysia each year.
The places earmarked for the location of the casino resorts are Marina bay near the city center and Sentosa, the resort island.
Religious groups have expressed concern over the decision. The Archbishop of Singapore’s Roman Catholic Church Nicholas Chia said he did not argue with the economic objectives of the plan, but was worried of its effect on the moral fiber of the nation. Its cost to family, social and human well-being may prove to be too high a price for change. The plan of legalizing casinos in Singapore had already stirred up a hot debate when it was proposed some time back. 30,000 people had signed a petition against the plan.
Prime Minister Lee said the casinos were necessary. He said investors and tourists would give Singapore the go-by if it did not have the “buzz” that cities like London, New York and Paris had. Singapore was in danger of becoming a “backwater”, he warned, “if it did not makeover its image”.
The proposal for casinos was given the go-ahead as early as December 2004 when the government invited bids to tender for the construction of a Las Vegas style entertainment resort with casino.
The casinos would be part of two integrated resorts that would include theme parks, 1,500 to 2,000 room luxury hotels, shopping plazas, retail outlets, museums, convention halls and major Broadway shows. According to a reputed economist, the casino resort could revitalize the economy by 0.6 percentage point a year and also create about 13,000 jobs, which is 0.6 percent of Singapore's current labour force. They are also expected to double the number of tourists to 17 million a year.
