A MASSIVE S$410 million (US$326 million) has been set aside for the remaking of Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre and Suntec City Mall, funded by ARA Trust Management, the managers of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust.
The funds will go towards the redesign of the MICE venue and mall, the addition of event, retail and F&B spaces, as well as new technology to support new media requirements of future event organisers and delegates – all to be completed in four phases between mid-2012 and 2015.
Unveiling preliminary plans for the improvement works, Pieter Idenburg, CEO of Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, said the revamped MICE venue would have a bold new entrance with escalators leading straight to a grand lobby on level three, a two-storey interactive digital wall, and “a slight increase in meetings spaces”.
Work on Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, which alone will cost S$180 million, is scheduled to begin in June 2012, and be completed in phases to minimise inconvenience to clients and event attendees. Arrangements have also been made to relocate events that would be affected by the construction, said Idenburg.
Idenburg denied that the hardware overhaul was in response to increasing competition from Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa and Singapore Expo, insisting that renovation plans had been “cooking for a while”.
“It has nothing to do with competition. The venue is now 16 years old and it is time to (refresh),” he said.
Rental rates are not expected to increase after the venue’s upgrading.
Specific details on Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre’s revamp and expansion will be unveiled soon.
