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Today,
15 Jul 04
S'pore eyed as site of $595m fun park
... as church council blasts casino plan
by Lee Ching Wern
US firm Ripley says talks on project in 'advanced stages'
Believe it or not, world famous entertainment firm Ripley may be coming
to Singapore. . The US-based company, best known for its "Ripley's
Believe It Or Not" cartoons and documentary series showcasing strange
and quirky facts, is keen on building a US$350 million ($595 million)
amusement centre in Singapore — its biggest project yet, said Mr Robert
Masterson, president of Ripley Entertainment yesterday.
In Singapore for the International Association of Amusement Parks
and Attractions conference and exhibition, Mr Masterson told reporters
that negotiations are in "quite advanced" stages, and a final decision
would be made by the end of September.
Currently, Ripley's operates 46 attractions worldwide, including aquariums,
museums, theme parks and cinemas. It is also involved in television
shows, book publishing and gaming products. "We're very confident
on Singapore. We did an exhaustive study, we hired (international
audit group) KPMG to do the study on macro-issues surrounding the
area," said Mr Masterson. "They came back very, very positive. Some
of the demographics and some of the statistics for what we want to
do show stronger reason to invest our money here than in the United
States."
Though he declined to comment on the precise nature or possible location
of the attraction, many believe that Sentosa — where there are plans
to develop an Integrated Entertainment Centre (IEC) — is the prime
candidate. . At the opening of the four-day attractions and amusement
expo yesterday, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan, said the IEC would be a "distinctive, world-class development
with a comprehensive range of amenities".
Proposed facilities include a gambling and entertainment complex,
hotels, a convention centre and a theme park to rival Hong Kong's
Disneyland, which is slated to open next year. A site covering 40
hectares has been earmarked for the IEC, which could cost as much
as $700 million.
According to Sentosa CEO Darrell Metzger, Sentosa is now in talks
with Australia's Village Roadshow and another overseas theme park
operator. It will decide whether to go ahead with the theme park in
the next two months. . "We're not able to divulge the other company
yet, but it's still going to be a few months before we come to a decision
on who that developer will be. We have some outstanding theme parks
in Asia, it's about time Singapore gets on that list. We have a lot
of competition now with Disney coming to Hong Kong," said Mr Metzger.
THE National Council of Churches in Singapore has spoken out against
the building of a casino here.
This is the first time the council has commented on the issue. It
gave a statement, which was sent to the council's member churches,
stating several reasons for its objection.
Casinos undermine society's moral values and virtues and introduce
more social ills, it said. It also voiced concern that such a project
would destroy, rather than enhance, the hard-earned values cultivated
here. The council pointed out that it had been said that certain controls
could be introduced to ensure that not all Singaporeans would be allowed
to enter the casino, if built.
It criticised that statement as a weak option. The council believes
a casino would tarnish Singapore's international reputation as a safe
country. It said Singapore would be seen as a country targeting the
wallets of gambling tourists, not all of whom are rich. — NewsRadio
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