According to the Singapore National Olympic Council, Singapore will not be hosting the 2013 or 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games due to repeated delays in the construction of the Sport Hub.
The proposal to replace the aging National Stadium with a world class iconic Sports Hub was first announced by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in 2005. Till today, the construction has not begun.
In an undated article shelved inside the Singapore Sports Council’s (SSC) online archive, (read article here) it was stated that construction on new Kallang Sports Hub was initially scheduled to begin by February 2008.
The completion date has since been pushed back repeatedly from next year to 2011, 2012, and then 2013. It now appears that it may not be completed after 2015 after all.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan had attributed the delay solely to the global financial crisis:
“The delay is unfortunate. It’s not something we wanted to happen. It was caused by, first, inflation in construction costs. Secondly, the fact there is a global financial crisis, credit became a problem. I decided and deliberately delayed it in order to get the best deal possible for Singapore.”
The exact cost of building the Sports Hub is not revealed to the public which prompted some to question if the successful bidder – the Singapore Sports Hub consortium had made an “unrealistic” bid for the project in the first place.
Despite the financial crisis, Singapore held its second F1 racing this year. The two Integrated Resorts (IRs) are also scheduled to be opened next year. Las Vegas Sands which owns one of them, is reportedly in financial trouble.s
It is strange that the construction of the Sports Hub has been repeatedly delayed due to lack of funds. Dr Vivian recently unveiled a $10-million dollars Community Integration Fund to make the new immigrants feel “welcomed” in Singapore.
The Singapore government splashed about $100 million last month to host the APEC Summmit meetings for a week.
For a government which prides itself in efficiency, it does seem a bit bizarre that there are no contingency plans put in place to replace the Sports Hub.
Without any opposition in parliament to hold Dr Vivian to task, it is highly unlikely that Singaporeans will ever know the truth.
The proposal to replace the aging National Stadium with a world class iconic Sports Hub was first announced by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan in 2005. Till today, the construction has not begun.
In an undated article shelved inside the Singapore Sports Council’s (SSC) online archive, (read article here) it was stated that construction on new Kallang Sports Hub was initially scheduled to begin by February 2008.
The completion date has since been pushed back repeatedly from next year to 2011, 2012, and then 2013. It now appears that it may not be completed after 2015 after all.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan had attributed the delay solely to the global financial crisis:
“The delay is unfortunate. It’s not something we wanted to happen. It was caused by, first, inflation in construction costs. Secondly, the fact there is a global financial crisis, credit became a problem. I decided and deliberately delayed it in order to get the best deal possible for Singapore.”
The exact cost of building the Sports Hub is not revealed to the public which prompted some to question if the successful bidder – the Singapore Sports Hub consortium had made an “unrealistic” bid for the project in the first place.
Despite the financial crisis, Singapore held its second F1 racing this year. The two Integrated Resorts (IRs) are also scheduled to be opened next year. Las Vegas Sands which owns one of them, is reportedly in financial trouble.s
It is strange that the construction of the Sports Hub has been repeatedly delayed due to lack of funds. Dr Vivian recently unveiled a $10-million dollars Community Integration Fund to make the new immigrants feel “welcomed” in Singapore.
The Singapore government splashed about $100 million last month to host the APEC Summmit meetings for a week.
For a government which prides itself in efficiency, it does seem a bit bizarre that there are no contingency plans put in place to replace the Sports Hub.
Without any opposition in parliament to hold Dr Vivian to task, it is highly unlikely that Singaporeans will ever know the truth.
