First, a floating stage for NDP. Next, a floating hotel?
WE’RE open to the idea of a floating hotel, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Will it be based on a converted cruise liner or built out of lightweight material? Floating hotels can take many forms.
There’s the King Pacific Lodge in Canada which is built from native pine, fir, cedar and stone on a barge.
It has 17 guest rooms and suites, a wrap-around deck with spa, Jacuzzi and plunge pool. It’s accessible only by air from Vancouver.
There’s also one being built in Mexico out of composite materials used in navy frigates.
While a floating hotel may dock here one day, it’s unlikely to be in time for the Formula 1 races next year, STB said.
The Business Times had reported on Thursday that floating hotels may be commissioned here to accommodate 50,000 foreign guests for the F1.
It reported that STB is studying the idea and quoted a source as saying that two cruise ships, converted into floating hotels, might be moored off Changi or Labrador Park.
But in an email reply to The New Paper on Sunday, STB’s Ms Caroline Leong, director, travel & hospitality business, said discussions on the possibility of developing a floating hotel here are still at an exploratory stage.
Said Ms Leong: ‘We have yet to receive a firm proposal. Should there be firm interest from investors, an in-depth feasibility study will have to be undertaken with the relevant government agencies to establish the appropriate location and the necessary infrastructural developments required for such a floating hotel concept to work.
‘Even if we are to proceed with the floating hotel concept, it is unlikely to be ready by September 2008 when Singapore hosts its first Formula 1 Grand Prix.’
She added STB has been approached by investors keen to build hotels, and venture into creative accommodation concepts like floating hotels.
It is open to such ideas to ensure that there are enough rooms to meet the target of welcoming 17 million visitors a year by 2015.
In 2006, visitor arrivals here hit a record of 9.7 million people.
Floating hotels are not new to Singapore.
In the 1980s, the 186-room Saigon Floating Hotel was built in Singapore by the then Bethlehem Shipyard. It was stationed in the Saigon River for around seven years until it was closed in 1996 when Vietnam refused to renew its operating licence.
Before that, it spent a short time operating off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
The New Paper on Sunday looked at other projects around the world.
One of the most interesting is a hotel inspired by an ancient civilisation.
But the materials used to build it are so advanced, they go into the stealth corvettes of the Swedish Navy. The engineer behind the Maya Hotel says it’s an idea Singapore may want to consider.
The hotel resembles a Mayan building and by the end of 2010 or early 2011, it should be in the waters off Cancun, a playground of the hip and trendy in Mexico.
Mr Ronny Nordell, 62, an engineer and co-founder of the $338 million project, said it is being built by the Swedish company Oceanic-Creations.
CONVERTING CRUISE LINERS
Like in many other places, Singapore appears to be considering converting a cruise ship.
But Mr Nordell, in a telephone interview from Sweden, said: ‘When ships remain still for long periods of time, they rust easily. That means a higher cost to maintain them.
‘And when materials like steel rust, fungus forms and you get a bad smell from the bottom parts of the ship.’
Even ships that sail need regular maintenance. Mr Nicholas Oh, 36, marketing manager for Top Niche, which owns a fleet of seven tugs and barges, said each vessel has to go for maintenance every 21/2 years to remove barnacles and for repainting if necessary.
He said: ‘It’s very common for fungus to form and for the ships to rust if they are at sea for a while.’
Mr Nordell said his company uses a composite material which he claims can reduce maintenance costs by 80 to 90 per cent and has been used by the Swedish Navy to build their stealth warships.
It is also light and eco-friendly. The hotel will have gas turbines which will be able to desalinate 150 million litres of water a day.
That is about twice the 76 million litres produced by Singapore’s three NEWater plants daily.
There will be 452 double rooms and 18 suites of different sizes to accommodate up to 1,200 guests.
Although the hotel can float out to sea, Mr Nordell said the Maya will be moored close to the quay for safety and practical reasons as the guests will be closer to tourist spots.
During an emergency, guests will be able to make it to land quickly.
Work on the project began in 2000 and they had to be sure they picked the right spot to locate the hotel because hurricanes are a problem in Mexico, said Mr Nordell.
He added: ‘Before we build a floating hotel, we have to spend six to eight months to study the weather and the climate.
‘For a region like Southeast Asia, we would have to do a total study for earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes.
‘These are the things we look at because the structure and strength of the hotel must be able to withstand them.’
He said they would then need about eight months to plan the project and 12 to 24 months to build the hotel.
The Maya is the company’s second floating hotel. Its first, a 120-roomer, will be delivered by the end of 2009 to Ireland.
When the 90,000 sq m Maya is completed, it will have restaurants, spas, a cinema, viewing gallery to see marine life, and 15 to 20 boutiques selling items ranging from clothes to jewellery.
If Singapore is planning to have floating hotels, Mr Nordell said: ‘We look forward to Singapore contacting us.’
For now, the closest floating hotel to home is the River Kwai Jungle Rafts in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, with 100 rooms on two wing rafts. It can be reached only by boat.
SAIGON FLOATING HOTEL, VIETNAM
186-room floating hotel was built in Singapore in 1980s
Was shipped to Great Barrier Reef in 1987 where it spent 2 years reportedly as world’s 1st floating hotel
Part of it (minus court and pool) was towed to Saigon in 1989 where it was popular with S’porean, Hong Kong and European businessmen
Closed down in 1996 after Vietnam didn’t renew its licence
KING PACIFIC LODGE, CANADA
Floating luxury lodge built of native pine, fir, cedar and stone on 100 x 60 sq ft barge
Boasts 17 rooms and suites with wrap-around deck offering spectacular views
Owned by Morita family of Japan’s Sony Corporation
Anchored along Barnard Harbour, Princess Royal Island (which has no permanent inhabitants or structures)
No roads to hotel, so guests arrive by boat or sea plane
Towed in from Prince Rupert from May to Sep
Built in 1996, was originally a humble floating fishing lodge
Actor Kevin Costner is apparently a fan of lodge
MAYA HOTEL MEXICO
The US$209m ($338m) Maya Hotel located south of Cancun, slated to open in 2010
Pyramid-shaped hotel built with new composite material six times lighter and 10 times stronger than steel
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