Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has expressed his belief that the best is yet to come for Singapore with the US$8 billion expansion of Marina Bay Sands (MBS), but admitted that making the decision 20 years ago to develop large-scale integrated resorts with casino gaming was a “risk”.
Wong’s comments were made during a speech at the groundbreaking of the MBS expansion project on Tuesday night at which he reiterated just how important the integrated resort and surrounding Marina Bay precinct had become to Singapore’s national identity.
But they also serve as a timely reminder of the leap of faith Singapore took under then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2005, at a time when nearby Thailand appears destined to drop its own integrated resort ambitions due to ongoing political instability.
