THE Singapore government on Monday gave gambling firm Genting International the go-ahead to build a casino, following extended probity checks after the group announced links with Macau tycoon Stanley Ho.

'There is no issue now. We are only looking at our jurisdiction - who the partners and shareholders participating in Resorts World Sentosa are,' said Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.

Mr Lim was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the $3.4 billion casino project, called Resorts World Sentosa, which Genting International plans to build on Singapore's Sentosa island.

Genting International and sister company Star Cruises - which are both controlled by Malaysia's Genting Bhd - in December won a bid to build Singapore's second casino.

But the gambling group upset the Singapore authorities when it unveiled a tie-up with Macau casino tycoon Ho a month later.

Genting International later withdrew from a Macau partnership with Ho, although Star Cruises remained in the deal.

Hi Jaggernaut, I haven't been to Singapore for years, do you know if there are any other Casinos in Singapore or will this be the first one?

Here's some more news on this story:

Singapore casino project breaks ground

Singapore - Malaysia's Genting International broke ground Monday on Singapore's second casino development, insisting the multi-billion-dollar project is on budget despite shortages of construction material in the city-state.

Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) began construction on a 49-hectare (121 acre) site on Sentosa island, with opening set for 2010.

The project got underway as Singapore deals with Indonesian-imposed restrictions on sand and granite, key materials for the city-state's booming construction sector.

Genting International Group chairman Lim Kok Thay said he did not see rising material costs leading to an over-run of the project's 5.2 billion dollar (3.4 billion US) budget.

"We don't foresee any over-run in the overall budget," he told reporters.

"Currently we are still on budget because obviously in the initial tendering for the project, we have allowed for contingencies," Lim said.

Genting International is part of Malaysian gaming conglomerate Genting Bhd.

In January, Indonesia banned the export to Singapore of land sand, a key ingredient of concrete. Checks by the Indonesian navy on barges bound for the island state have disrupted granite supplies as well.

Singapore's Building and Construction Authority has said that while the cost of sand imported from other countries is expected to increase, largely due to transport expenses, the situation is "manageable."

It said the government is releasing sand from its stockpile to make up for any transitional shortfall.

Resorts World chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck said building material cost fluctuations are factored into construction contracts.

The Resorts World development will include a Universal Studios theme park and the world's largest oceanarium, as well as gaming facilities.

Las Vegas Sands is building the city state's other multi-billion-dollar casino and convention project at Marina Bay near the city-state's commercial heart.

Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, who attended the Sentosa ceremony, said the local tourism board expects both casino resorts to attract an additional two to three million visitors to the city-state.

Singapore in 2005 lifted a ban on casinos in a bid to attract more tourists, but other countries in Asia are also moving to liberalise their gaming laws and the southern Chinese enclave of Macau has become one of world's top casino draws to rival Las Vegas.

Agence France Presse