Sands Corp. recently announced that after many efforts and in spite of the limited credit market, it obtained several loans for more than $3.7 billion for the construction of the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The casino is part of the company’s project to gain ground in Asia.

President and Chief Operating Officer of Sands William Weidner explained that the loans were possible thanks to the background provided by the strong Singaporean economy. The Marina Bay will be the company’s second resort in Asia, the first one, called the Venetian Macao, opened in China last year.

The construction of the Singapore resort will start this year and it will include 2,500 rooms, 1.2 million square feet of convention and exhibition space, three huge entertainment centers and a large casino. The Marina Sands Bay is expected to open in 2009, if everything goes as scheduled.

“The cost of the project has increased slightly because of the weakened U.S. dollar and the rise of building and material costs in Singapore's booming economy,” Mr. Weidner said. However, he assured that Sands plans to repay the debt five to eight years after the facility opens.