Over $100 million more grant support for town councils to maintain lifts

On top of existing grants the town councils in Singapore will receive over than $100 million a year in additional funding to maintain and replace lifts, announced the Ministry of National Development (MND) on 2 Feb.
A Lift Maintenance Grant (LMG) of $600 per lift owned and maintained by the Town Councils will help them to cope with higher lift-related servicing and maintenance costs. This is expected to cost the Government an additional $13 million a year, said MND.
The LMG will also match 50 percent of town councils’ quarterly contributions to the Lift Replacement Fund (LRF) that will be compulsory for town councils from 1 April this year.
This new matching grant is expected to cost over $50 million in the coming year, and the grant quantum is likely to increase as the Town Councils build up their LRFs over time.
According to the ministry, the additional funding will double MND’s existing support to town councils, which worked out to around $120 million in FY15/16.

1) This does not include government funding for similar programs such as the Selective Lift Replacement Program to replace about 750 old lifts, as well as the co-payment scheme for the repair works of building facades / Source: MND

Ultimately, town councils have a statutory responsibility to manage and maintain the common property in HDB estates. “Town councils need to plan ahead and take appropriate and timely steps to ensure that their long-term finances are sustainable,” MND said.