The Marina Bay Sands casino resort in Singapore has received approval from the city-state’s authorities to develop a fourth tower, with 153,100 square metres (1.65 million sq feet) of hotel space over 587 rooms. The original plan, announced in 2019, mentioned a hotel tower with 1,000 all-suite rooms, a 15,000-seat arena, and a sky roof.

The new hotel tower will also feature 12,185 sq metres of retail space, according to data published on Friday by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. The story had first been reported by The Straits Times newspaper.

Marina Bay Sands (pictured) is run by U.S.-based casino developer Las Vegas Sands Corp.

The company is currently carrying out a US$750-million revamp of the complex’s Tower 3, as well as the property’s hotel lobby, and the rooftop Sands SkyPark. That is supplementary to the US$1-billion invested in the renovation of Tower 1 and Tower 2 of Marina Bay Sands.

The Singapore room revamp is separate from the group’s commitment to the city-state’s authorities to invest at least SGD4.5 billion (US$3.3 billion) on expansion of the property. That expansion encompasses development of the fourth hotel tower adjacent to its existing complex, and additional space for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

In March last year, Las Vegas Sands was authorised by Singapore’s authorities to delay to April 8 this year, the deadline to start construction work for the extension of the Marina Bay Sands complex. According to corporate filings, the “completion deadline” for Marina Bay Sands 2.0 has been set to April 8, 2028.

It was the second 12-month deadline extension granted to the firm regarding the start of the property’s expansion.

Las Vegas Sands said in a presentation deck last week, issued with the group’s fourth-quarter results, that the budget and timing of the Marina Bay Sands expansion “are subject to revision based upon the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors”.

“Project costs are expected to meaningfully exceed the initial US$3.3 billion estimates, inclusive of land, that were made in 2019, due to inflation, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, higher labour and material costs, and other factors,” it added.