Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) has announced that it will bring forward its lift replacement schedule for selected lifts in the town, before the HDB’s recommended 28-year upgrading/replacement guideline.
AHTC stated in a press release on Monday evening that it has noted some older lifts over the past two years, which have critical parts that become obsolete earlier than the recommended cyclical major upgrading/replacement guideline for lifts, contributing to frequent breakdowns.
AHTC manages in excess of 1700 lifts of varying ages and the town council is aided by residents in Aljunied and Hougang by reporting cases of unsatisfactory lift performance for early assessment and rectification.
On the recently announced HDB Lift Enhancement Programme (LEP), AHTC plans to progressively schedule lifts nearing the 15-year mark of their lifespan for enhancement under this program. The selection of the 15-year mark would broadly correspond to the half-way point of the recommended lifespan for each lift.
AHTC has issued a tender for the installation of 20 new lifts in Aljunied GRC on 6 Oct 2016, with a small number of lifts qualifying for HDB co-funding under the HDB Selective Lift Replacement Programme (SLRP) announced in 2014.
The Town Council has published details of this tender and the relevant information is available at ahtc.sg.
Over the next four-year period, AHTC will call similar tenders to replace selected lifts. Over a five-year period, the overall cost of this lift replacement exercise, funded chiefly through the Town Council’s sinking fund is estimated to cost, at current prices, approximately $17.5m.
The town council shares that lift maintenance and part replacement costs have been on an upward trajectory and that its Lift Department continues to review, on an on-going basis, the scope of maintenance works each age group of lifts requires so as to identify possible areas for improvement in the lift maintenance regime.
While the Town Council will endeavour to keep all its lifts safe for use, it calls on all users to exercise care when using lifts. Acts of vandalism and improper use of lifts, amongst other reasons, contribute to frequent breakdowns and increased maintenance, leading to escalating costs.
AHTC states that it will continue to work with the HDB to ensure that all the lifts under its management meet the HDB’s requirements for safe use and operation.
The announcement by Aljunied-Hougang Town Council follows the earlier announcement by the People’s Action Party run town councils to pump in $45 million in stepping up lift safety and reliability over the next five years.
It is said that the town councils will be using the money to implementing recommendations unveiled by the PAP Town Councils Lift Taskforce on Monday (Dec 5). The taskforce was set up in July and is spearheaded by Dr Teo Ho Pin, PAP Town Council’s coordinating chairman.
