The media reported on Thu (‘Final stage of Circle Line to cost $4.85b‘, 11 Apr) that the final stretch of Circle Line which would add three more stations linking Marina Bay to HarbourFront is expected to cost $4.85 billion. But in 2015, it was projected that it should cost only $3.7 billion. Hence, there is a discrepancy of $1.15 billion from the initial projection.

In recent years, the costs of a number of infrastructure projects undertaken in Singapore have also deviated from their initial projections.

Marina Coastal Expressway

For example in 2007, the government decided to give approval for LTA to build the 5 km long Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) at a cost of $2.5 billion.

At the time, the government said, “The MCE will cater to the projected increase in traffic volume generated by the high-density developments in the Marina Bay area and also serve as an essential transport link from the Marina Bay to the rest of the island.”

The project was expected to be completed by 2013. About 2 years later at the ground breaking ceremony of MCE on 28 Apr 2009, in its press release, LTA said it had awarded contracts worth about $4.1 billion for the construction of the MCE.

There was a huge discrepancy of $1.6 billion.

Downtown Line

In 2012, the cost of Downtown Line project was reported to have “soared” by 70% (“Downtown Line costs soar by more than 70%“).

ST reported, “A spike in construction cost has contributed to the MRT Downtown Line bill rising by more than 70 per cent from an original estimate of $12 billion to $20.7 billion.”

“Half of this $8.7 billion increase was attributed to a sharp rise in construction cost, with the other half linked to a number of changes to the project.”

When the report came out, LTA responded by saying that it would “take steps” like “inviting more firms to bid for projects” to rein in prices.

Jewel at Changi

Source: CAG

Then we have the famous Jewel at Changi. The project was projected to cost $1.47 billion in an announcement in Dec 2013 (“Project Jewel at Changi Airport to cost $1.47b“).

This project is a joint venture between the Changi Airport Group (CAG) and CapitaMalls Asia. CAG is the venture’s majority shareholder, with a 51 per cent stake with CapitaMalls Asia (CMA) owning the remaining 49 per cent. CAG is wholly owned by the Singapore government and run by Temasek while Temasek is the controlling shareholder of Captaland which owns CMA.

It is touted to be the iconic centre piece of the Changi Airport and was specially announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally in 2013.

However, when the Jewel opened its doors to the public for preview last week (11 Apr), the media reported that the final cost of the project was already $1.7 billion, or $230 million more.

So, the question is, who is paying for all these cost overruns?

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

国大医学中心实验室昨火患

国大医学院属下的转化医学中心冷冻房实验室,昨日(26日)发生火患,近千名教职员、学生和工作人员被疏散,所幸未发生事故伤亡。 民防部队在昨早11时许接获投报,不过在民防队抵达前,洒水系统已将火势扑灭。火患可能涉及冷冻室里的物品,起火原因尚在调查中。 发生火患的地点在医学通道(Medical Drive)14号,国大医学院的转化医学中心,10楼的实验室。 在国大医院柜台处服务的英兰告诉《海峡时报》,看见有至少五辆消防车和六辆警车抵达现场,而建筑物内的人员都被疏散到外头。 国大发言人则表示,学生和职员安全是校方主要考量,无人在事件中受伤。  

缺席假返回职场 四工作准证持有者遭遣返

四名工作准证持有者被发现,违反缺席假规定,在24小时内被人力部吊销工作证后遣返回国,且无法再回到新加坡工作,六名雇主也因涉案而被下令不得在两年内申请聘用外国员工。 人力部于昨日(2月9日)发文告,指有四名持有本地工作准证的人士,于2月4日至8日期间,趁着缺席假期间到公司上班,被人力部官员查获后,于24小时内吊销他们的工作准证,并且将他们遣返回顾。他们也被禁止在我国工作。 另外,当局也获知有两名永久居民趁着缺席假期间,返回公司工作,因此决定向雇主追究责任。 一共有六名雇主因为违规,而被剥夺聘请外籍员工的权利,长达两年。 人力部表示,将会通过各种管道,如电话、视讯或突击检查,以确保工作准证持有者有遵循缺席假规定,没有到公司上班。有关的缺席假是给予之前两周曾到中国大陆的员工或工作准证持有者,在回到新加坡后,强制申请14天的缺席假,以便在家中进行隔离。 当局表示,一旦发现有人违反了相关隔离条规,将会给予严厉惩罚,包括吊销违规员工的工作准证,以及收回违规雇主的聘用外籍员工权利。“雇主和员工都有义务确保所有领取缺席假的人士,能在这期间为自己的行为负责。” 当局也表示,为了控制自中国返回我国促请工作准证持有者人数,在后者回到本地前,雇主必须于今日开始的14天内,取得人力部的批准。 为了确保员工住宿,需要协助的雇主可联络当局(电话:1800-333-999)或电邮到人力部([email protected])询问。 人力部欢迎民众在发现有工作准证持有者或雇主违反缺席假时,透过电子邮件或致电(65 6438 5122)做出投诉。

印度巴帝电信穆迪评级下调 政府投资公司仍认购近10亿元股

彭博社在上周四揭示,新加坡政府投资公司(GIC)将认购印度巴帝电信500亿卢比(约9.72亿新元)的附加股。 一周前,巴帝电信宣布将透过发售附加股和永久债券,筹集3200亿卢比(62亿新元)的资金,以协助该公司减轻总值约210亿新元的债务。目前,该公司市值为250亿元。 目前,新电信(Singtel)是巴帝电信最大股东,持股达39.5巴仙。不过她决定部分股权由GIC认购。为此,新电信持股将减至35.2巴仙,但仍是最大股东。 而GIC首次投资巴帝电信,将持股4.4巴仙。 新电信在2000年首次买入巴帝电信的股权。过去12个月,新电信已在投资约9亿新元于巴帝集团,包括投资2亿5000万美元于非洲巴帝电信。 从2016年8月至2018年2月,新电信则积极增加在巴帝电信的股份,从33巴仙增至29.5巴仙。 有分析指,新电信减持可能是对巴帝电信透过举债来增加资金的举动,持保留态度。 穆迪首次下调评级 有鉴于巴帝电信因陷入新电信业者Reliance Jio的削价战,持续损及其盈利,穆迪长期债务评级,首次调低巴帝电信的投资级别评级,从Baa3降至Ba1,即:“有投机成分,有相当风险”。 在该评级中,Baa评级属中级,意味证程度一般。利息支付和本金安全现在有保证,但在相当长远的一些时间内具有不可靠性。缺乏优良的投资品质。 如果Ba级则具有投机性质,意味有关企业不能保证将来的良好状况。还本付息的保证有限,一旦经济情况发生变化,还本付息能力将削弱。具有不稳定的特征。…

5 out of 10 local COVID-19 cases of Indian variant linked to TTSH cluster

So far, there are at least 10 COVID-19 community cases in Singapore…