PAP has officially debunked oppies' scurrilous lies.
SINGAPORE — The authorities here have debunked “false and malicious” allegations of profiteering and corruption in the development of the Singapore EXPO community care facility by Surbana Jurong, assuring the public that the project was carried out at or below cost and above board.
“The government accepts that legitimate questions can be raised about the spending, and is fully prepared to explain why and how money was spent. However the government will respond firmly and appropriately to any scurrilous allegation of corruption,” said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a joint statement on Wednesday (20 May).
The statement comes a day after urban and infrastructure consultancy Surbana Jurong issued its own statement to refute the claims, which had been circulating on social media and messaging platforms.
"We absolutely refute the allegations and will not hesitate to take legal action against any perpetrator who continues to make scurrilous attacks against our company,” said the consultancy.
One of the several social media posts had alleged conflicts of interest given that Manpower Minister Josephine Teo's husband is Teo Eng Cheong, the international chief executive in charge of Surbana Jurong in Singapore, Southeast Asia, and North Asia markets.
Wednesday’s joint statement stressed that
both the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and its minister were not involved in the selection of the consultancy – or any of the parties – to participate in the development of the community care facility at the EXPO. Both were also not involved in the process of managing the costs of the project.
It noted that the consultancy worked with the other partners to complete the development of the EXPO community care facility in a very short time, and was able to “leverage its sourcing processes to obtain construction and other needed materials on an urgent basis”.
“Despite the tight timelines and extensive work that was required, Surbana Jurong provided its expertise to develop the Singapore EXPO community care facility at cost, without any profit or management fee,” the joint statement added.
In the same statement, the authorities also detailed their process behind working with Temasek Holdings – and through the state investment firm, Surbana Jurong – to help build and prepare the necessarily facilities required for the needs of COVID-19 patients.
As the facilities needed to be built and prepared “quickly in a matter of days”, the government approached Temasek as it had the necessary resources to be marshalled, at short notice, through its subsidiaries, said the MOH and MND.
The authorities added that Temasek had committed to assist as well as
agreed that the work done by its linked companies would be done at a “cost-recovery basis, and in some cases, below cost”.
“There will be no profit made by Temasek and its linked companies for the work done. The Temasek linked companies agreed with these arrangements,” said the statement.
Temasek later identified the EXPO as a suitable venue and had asked Surbana Jurong to convert it into Singapore’s first large-scale community care facility with 8,000 beds.
“Temasek also asked other companies, including PSA International (which was the overall project co-ordinator), Singapore Technologies Engineering and Sheares Healthcare to help. External vendors such as Parkway Pantai, Resorts World Sentosa, and Certis Cisco also played a crucial role in the successful development of the Singapore EXPO community care facility,” the statement added.
The MOH worked with Temasek and the other entities on the healthcare requirements and needs for the site.
“The government worked out a comprehensive strategy to care for COVID-19 patients at different stages of their infection, and based on their need for different types of treatment,” the statement said.
“The majority (of patients) needed accommodation where they can be isolated, until their infectious stage has passed. These were designated community care facilities. Those admitted to (them) are persons with mild or no symptoms, or are recovering patients who have been discharged from hospital.”
Once the requirements and needs of the sites were confirmed, the MND liaised with the entities on the payments for the development of the facility.
“This is because MND has also been liaising with other parties to pay for the provision of other facilities, like the dedicated stay-home notice facilities,” said the statement.
It added that Temasek did not charge any management fees “for all the work” it had done and only invoiced the MND for expenses paid to third parties.
“Temasek also confirmed that its linked companies, including Surbana Jurong will only charge for direct expenditure, at cost. Some aspects were charged at below normal cost,” said the statement.
One example would be that Temasek had told the government that SingEx Venues, which manages the EXPO, will not charge the full capital expenditure cost, since it was not being used for normal business during the COVID-19 situation.
“Many parties have stepped forward to help in the fight against COVID-19. These include the Temasek companies, private sector companies, as well as thousands of Singaporeans.
“We are grateful to all who have worked hard and around the clock to set up the Singapore EXPO community care facility under extraordinary circumstances. This is a testament to the whole-of-society effort that has made it possible for us to combat and manage the COVID-19 virus,” the statement added.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/governmen...are-facility-by-surbana-jurong-125223208.html
