Missed out on other MND news over the past month? Here’s a sampling of some of the more significant developments.
Shopping in the Heartlands
Seminar.
Neighbourhood shops have to rethink their marketing strategies to keep up with the challenges posed by newer and bigger malls which are coming on stream, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu at the HDB Retail Seminar in early July. And to lend a helping hand to these shops, HDB has launched a brand new initiative, Where2Shop@HDB, which serves as a comprehensive online directory of 148 town centres islandwide, containing information on popular products and services. Other facilities available in the vicinity and information nuggets about the local town complex are also highlighted in the search results. HDB expects that more than 10,000 heartland retailers will benefit from this initiative.
Managing our Public Estates
Three dialogue sessions with residents and town councillors on the planned Town Council Management Report (TCMR) were conducted recently. Feedback from the dialogue participants focused on issues of cleanliness, estate maintenance, as well as financial management. The sessions formed part of the Ministry of National Development’s public consultation exercise to identify key areas on which town councils could be assessed in the planned TCMR. Suggestions included implementing a demerit point system to evaluate contractors, providing an online channel for residents’ feedback, collaborating with regulatory agencies to step up enforcements, strengthening communication on service standards to match residents’ expectations, and most importantly, focusing on measurable indicators to allow meaningful comparison across all 16 town councils.
Wagyu Makes a Comeback
Also in July, a celebration was organised by the Embassy of Japan to mark the lifting of an AVA ban on the import of the prime wagyu beef from Japan. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan joined more than 50 other guests to savour a spread of wagyu, and of kurobuta pork. Despite the price difference between stocks from Japan and those originating in Australia or the United States, local restaurants are confident that discerning diners would opt for the Japanese meat on their menus. In fact, five tonnes of the Japanese beef have been imported here since the ban was lifted in May.
Lighting Up the City
Nothing makes a city more spectacular than bright lights shimmering in a darkened night sky. URA has reviewed the lighting of prominent areas such as the Civic District, the Central Business District, and the Marina Bay area. The agency, which is in charge of development planning across the island, is now looking to enhance Singapore’s evening skyline further with proposed new rules which could allow advertisers to publicise their wares from above the current limit of 30 meters above the ground. URA is now studying guidelines in cities such as Sydney, New York and Tokyo, and is expected to complete its review in a couple of months.
A Cost Conscious Ministry
Even as they embark on new plans, MND Family agencies are aware of the need to trim costs where possible. For instance, HDB has implemented building improvements, which have yielded cost savings of about $1.5 million annually, by using the FerroLite partition wall instead of normal concrete walls, when building internal partitions in its new batch of flats. Besides cash savings from the FerrorLite walls, HDB also chalked up savings of up to 30 percent on the raw materials used. Best of all, the FerroLite walls matched the normal walls in terms of quality and durability.
Other MND agencies are in on the act as well, adopting measures to protect the environment and reduce costs. NParks has installed solar energy panels in the Singapore Botanic Garden Visitor Centre and at Pulau Ubin to reduce its carbon footprint, while HDB and URA have implemented a Home Office Scheme to help budding entrepreneurs save on their operating costs. A total of 1,100 private owners and 19,000 HDB owners have benefited from this scheme.