Pop star Katy Perry will soon have a permanent home on Singapore's Sentosa Island in the city's new Madame Tussauds museum due to open in 2014, Merlin Entertainments – the owner of the renowned chain of wax museums – announced on Monday.
The building of Madame Tussauds – which is famous for its lifelike wax figures of world icons – will be carried out in partnership between Merlin and Sentosa Development Corporation.
Singapore marks the museum's sixth Asian location. Existing locations include China, Thailand and Japan.
"Our most important development region is Asia, and we're going very rapidly, with 10 attractions already open and seven more in development," Meike Schulze, divisional director for Asia at Merlin Entertainments said at a press conference where wax statues of three celebrities - American singer Katy Perry, British actress Kate Winselt and Taiwanese singer Jay Chou - were unveiled.
The museum will house wax figures - each of which takes 3 months and costs 150,000 pounds ($245,000) to make - of both international and Singaporean celebrities, and will feature a ride tied to the history and culture of the city-state.
Merlin – the world's second-largest visitor attractions operator – recently raised $1.5 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) in London, with the proceeds said to go towards paying down debt and expansion plans.
The company, which also owns Legoland, is in the process of developing the theme park in Dubai and potentially in Japan and South Korea.
The company plans to invest around $20 million in developing the new museum as well as revamping the existing Images of Singapore attraction located on the island.
—By CNBC's Ansuya Harjani; Follow her on Twitter @Ansuya_H