The Singapore Tourism Board said the winning consortium will be selected based on the proposed project's expected contribution to tourism, which will have a weighting of about 40 percent, architectural concept and design (30 percent), development investment (20 percent), and the strength of the companies involved in the consortium (10 percent).

The casino resort "is envisaged to be a large-scale iconic lifestyle product that will enhance Singapore's reputation as a premium, 'must-visit' destination for leisure and business visitors," the tourism board said in a statement.

It said the development must be modern and architecturally distinctive to differentiate it from casinos in other global cities.

Singapore last year reversed its decades-old ban on casino gambling and said it would award licenses to operate a casino at Marina Bay, the site of Singapore's new downtown, and another on the resort island of Sentosa.

There are four players left in the running to build the Marina Bay casino: Malaysian-controlled Genting International PLC; a consortium of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Singapore's Keppel Land; Las Vegas Sands Corp.; and a tie-up involving MGM Mirage and Southeast Asia's largest developer, CapitaLand Ltd.

Bidding for the Marina Bay casino will close on March 29, and the government is expected to make its decision by the middle of this year. The request for proposals for the Sentosa casino will likely be launched later this year.

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