SATS Ltd. (SATS) has won the bid to manage and operate the new Singapore International Cruise Terminal (ICT) at Marina South.
SATS participated in the ICT tender through a consortium formed with Creuers del Port de Barcelona S.A. (Creuers), Europe’s leading cruise terminal operator which manages five cruise terminals in the Port of Barcelona. The consortium will be granted a 10-year lease to operate the ICT, with the option to renew for another five years, and is expected to commence the initial phase of operations by second quarter of 2012.
Tan Chuan Lye, Acting CEO of SATS, said of the win, "We are honoured to be chosen as the terminal operator for the ICT by Singapore Tourism Board (STB). This is a national, iconic project where SATS is tasked with not only managing the cruise terminal but also in developing Singapore as Asia’s leading cruise hub."
Mr Tan continued, "We understand the significance of ICT to the Singapore tourism sector. SATS and Creuers will leverage our respective strengths and competencies in aviation gateway and cruise terminal operations to offer innovative, quality services to the cruise lines while enhancing the travel experience of cruise passengers at the various touch points."
Carlos F. Domingo-Pagès, Managing Director of Creuers, remarked: "Creuers has accumulated extensive and in-depth knowledge of the cruise industry and has been instrumental in increasing Barcelona’s cruise passenger traffic to become the largest cruise port operator in Europe. Together with our partner SATS, we intend to collaborate with STB and the industry stakeholders to grow and anchor Singapore’s position as the premier regional cruise hub and the leading homeport for major cruise lines."
Prior to this tender, SATS has been making its foray into the cruise industry. It collaborated with Star Cruises and Changi Airport Group to launch the Fly-Cruise service in July 2011, and with Royal Caribbean International for the Cruise-Fly service in April 2011. Both services enable cruise passengers to experience a seamless and convenient check-in and travel experience in Singapore.
To manage and operate the ICT, SATS has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary SATS Airport Services Pte Ltd, formed a 60:40 joint venture company with Creuers, with SATS holding the majority stake. The new subsidiary, SATS-Creuers Cruise Services Pte Ltd, has an initial issued and paid-up capital of S$6 million consisting of 6,000,000 shares of S$1 each.
The tender award and joint venture are not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of SATS for the current financial year. None of the directors or controlling shareholders of SATS has any interest, direct or indirect, in the above joint venture other than through their respective interests (if any) in SATS.
