Source : Business Times – 14 Nov 2009
It’s expecting to receive loan offers before year-end
SINGAPORE Sports Hub Consortium (SSHC), the winning bidder for the Singapore Sports Hub project, said yesterday that it has kickstarted efforts to raise bank debt finance to build the mega project. ‘SSHC intends to raise bank debt financing and expects to receive financing offers before year-end,’ the consortium said in a statement.
The consortium is made up of construction firm Dragages Singapore, HSBC Infrastructure Fund, United PREMAS and Global Spectrum Asia. SSHC is redeveloping the National Stadium at Kallang into the Singapore Sports Hub under a private-public-partnership scheme with the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). SSHC will design, build and operate the hub for 25 years.
The project has suffered its fair share of delays and hiccups since it was announced. The completion date has been postponed repeatedly. It was first expected to be completed in 2010, but is now likely to come onstream only in 2013 at the earliest.
One reason for the delay is that banks turned cautious during the economic downturn, making it harder for the winning bidder to raise funds. The cost of building the Sports Hub has also increased – from the initial estimates of $650-800 million to $1.2 billion – as construction costs surged and a watersports centre was worked into the plans.
The total price, after factoring in maintenance and operating costs, is expected to be around $1.87 billion – which is what the government will pay the operator for use of the hub over the 25-year period.
The delays have also put a crimp in Singapore’s plans to host the South-east Asia (SEA) Games in 2013, as the hub may not be ready by then. Covering 35 hectares, it will include a National Stadium that can seat 55,000, a 6,000-capacity indoor aquatic centre, a 3,000-capacity multi-purpose indoor arena and an indoor stadium.
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