In response to the news that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is set to upgrade an additional 3,200 lifts with security features this year, a few netizens pointed to the timing of the projects, saying the upgrades usually seem to coincide with elections.
According to a recent article by straitstimes.com, following the initial 1,200 lift upgrades in HDB estates falling under the 15 town councils led by the People’s Action Party, 3,231 more lifts are set to undergo renovations. The project, which started in January 2019 is part of a 10-year plan which aims to enhance over 18,500 HDB lifts.
The first two sets of lift upgrades are valued at S$107 million–a cost taken from the Lift Enhancement Programme (LEP), a S$450 million project largely funded by the HDB, which was started in 2018.
PAP town councils coordinating chairman Teo Ho Pin has said that the LEP initiative is on schedule. The leader of the PAP Lift Taskforce has also disclosed that eight key safety features will be added to lifts–including an emergency communications system, an automatic rescue device, and emergency stop mechanisms.
While about 17,000 lifts fall under town councils led by the PAP, the remaining 1,500 or so fall under the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC), which is led by the Workers’ Party. The AHTC lifts will also be improved over the 10-year period.
In response to this news, a few netizens highlighted an interesting correlation between the timing of such upgrades and elections season. While some said that the lift upgrades were a hint of the nation’s General Elections coming soon, others blatantly stated that such enhancing projects “seem to coincide with election year all the time…”
One netizen even said that “every GE also bring(s) up lift upgrading.”
