Marina Bay a place to live work and play
The township planner’s vision of Marina Bay area being a place to ‘live, work and play’ is gradually taking shape. Below is a summary of what is coming up in that area. $ n. [ P' s" q( U! N
" }! ^5 }5 S0 m H+ v# U+ GA global financial hub
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- U9 x* X D1 i; s' j" TThe office space in Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) has been a big hit with banking and financial institutions.
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The estimated 1.7 million sq ft of lettable area in MBFC are divided into two office towers. They will be completed in 2010. Phase II office tower will create a further one million-plus sq ft of space.
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% A- z& H8 p" |/ E3 K+ jA stone throw away, One Raffles Quay has slightly over 1.3 million sq ft of office space. It was completed last year.
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In addition to that, two other parcels of land - Land Parcel A at Marina View and Land Parcel B at Marina View - will add at least 1.7 million sq ft of office space.
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# ?* \. g; ~) \ |2 p3 s nLand Parcel A and Land Parcel B are 'white' sites which provide successful bidders the flexibilities to change the uses of the sites according to market situations without having to incur hefty sum in Development Charge. Both parcels can be used to build homes.
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Gardens by the Bay) Q2 ^+ S. F* E9 J* y7 t
% ]5 m/ c7 D( O& J8 ]The National Parks Board will build three giant size city gardens around the waterfront MBFC vicinity. The 101 hectare (i.e. 1,010,000 sq m) Gardens by the Bay site is made up of Gardens at Marina South, Gardens at Marina East, and Gardens at Marina Centre across the mouth of the Singapore River. It is estimated that $300 million-$400 million could be spent on them. - o$ e$ x: h/ B& J' ~
% d# z# W8 Z# X3 W( `' OThe Integrated Resort (IR)
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) H8 z$ G( D' f; Y9 |! K; I. jThe 6 million sq ft Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (IR) will be completed by January 2009 but will only be fully operational a year later. ) J7 `( Z! c; N4 v
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It will cost $5.2 billion to build and it will feature three 50-storey hotel towers containing 1,000 rooms each with a two acre Sky Garden linking the top floor of the three towers together. $ V7 q, R6 X# o# c8 D! q
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Among other usual hotel facilities, it will showcase an iconic Arts and Science Museum on the promontory, one-million sq ft of integrated waterside promenade and shopping arcade, one-million sq ft convention centre, two 2,000-seat theatres, a casino, and a 4,000-lot car park.
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' T# x' A3 J9 S; q, R0 o' _; aMore residential projects to be launched/ p( x, E; O0 }+ n* K, B; A
& S" }7 Q- l) WA 223-unit residential development called Marina Bay Suites will be launched in early 2008. This project is the second and last residential block at MBFC. The parcel has been awarded to Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Land.
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Another 60ha of land at Marina South has been set aside for a residential development. The site will be launched next year and is expected to accommodate some 11,000 housing units with a mix of commercial, hotel and community facilities.
