The government’s partnership with Sports Hub Pte Ltd has been terminated, and the government would take over management and ownership beginning from Dec 9, the Sport SG said on June 10.
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh (WP-Aljunied GRC) noted on Monday (Aug 1) that in 2014, the then-Minister of Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) had said there was a provision for deductions in the event of non-performance or non-availability for use.
“This was on the back of the Brazil-Japan football game when there were concerns about pitch quality and so forth,” Mr Singh said.
“Can I just confirm from 2014 to date how much has the government charged SHPL for non-performance?” he asked.
In answer to previous Parliamentary Questions, MCCY minister Edwin Tong had said that the total amount for terminating the PPP for the Sports Hub is expected to be S$2.3 billion.
He added, however, that this is “comparable to the financial obligation committed under the PPP if we had chosen to continue with it, without termination.”
“Taking the two buckets of costs to be paid for the termination – the sum to be paid to SHPL which largely reflects the upfront capital expenditure and future operating costs – this would be a fair deal for the Government on which to take back the assets.”
In answer to the supplementary question from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Tong said he believed the amount the government charged SHPL for non-performance is about S$44 million, but he would check on the exact figure.
Shortly after the takeover was announced, Mr Tong wrote in a much-shared social media post, “Today marks a new chapter for the Sports Hub.”
“The Sports Hub is an iconic national sporting asset. It is the Home of Singapore Sport. It must therefore be more accessible, vibrant, and open to a range of different activities and to a broad spectrum of our society.
We want more Singaporeans to come to the National Stadium, to develop an affinity with, and feel proud of our stadium and its sporting infrastructure, which should also very much be part of our day-to-day lived sporting experience.”
/TISG