Speech by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Singapore River Festival 2025
Sep 12, 2025
INTRODUCTION
A very good evening. I am very happy to join you for this year’s edition of the Singapore River Festival.
The Singapore River used to be the cradle of trade and enterprise. Boats that were laden with goods lined its banks, while bustling marketplaces and godowns flourished around it. Yet, as our city developed, the river faced many challenges – pollution, overcrowding, and congestion. The ambitious clean-up in the 1970s and 80s, driven by none other than our founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, himself, was a major turning point, breathing new life into the river and setting the stage for its transformation into the iconic civic and cultural space that we all enjoy today.
Since then, the Singapore River has evolved from a working waterway into a vibrant waterfront hub for housing, recreation, entertainment, and commerce. The blend of new developments with conserved heritage buildings lends the area a unique charm, preserving the memory of the river’s past, even as it stands ready to begin another chapter of its long and colourful history.
This transformation is a strong testament to what we can achieve for our urban environment – with focused strategic planning, strong community effort, and a long-term vision.
But our work is not done. The ongoing renewal of our Singapore River continues through active stewardship and place management – not just by the Government, but also working together with the private and people sectors.
SINGAPORE RIVER ONE: A PIONEER IN PLACE MANAGEMENT
This evening, I would like to recognise the efforts of Singapore River One, or SRO, since its inception thirteen years ago.
Formed in 2012, SRO started as a non-profit place management organisation and subsequently became URA’s first pilot Business Improvement District or what we call BID. It was driven by the purpose of making the Singapore River district more vibrant and economically resilient.
This was a bold and ambitious undertaking by SRO.
The Singapore River of today is home to a rich mix of businesses and cultures. Each of its three Quays have their own distinctive character. From offices and heritage buildings to restaurants and nightlife spots, we have to balance many competing needs and interests along this single waterfront.
In the mid-2000s, Boat Quay was also known amongst locals and tourists as a hotspot, unfortunately, for rampant touting and vice. Which was why, in 2009, the authorities had to intervene to restore law and order.
But SRO was undaunted.
Not only did SRO rally the F&B operators to run an anti-touting campaign, it also got the operators to commit to collectively undertake good business practice pledges, to improve the touting and over-charging situation – important to restore confidence.
At Circular Road, SRO coordinated the allocation and management of Outdoor Refreshment Areas as alfresco dining spaces during the road closures, with support from our government agencies.
SRO has also been organising large-scale events including the Singapore River Festival and also St Patrick’s Street Festival which have successfully drawn in large crowds and generated increased sales for our businesses.
Through these efforts, SRO has demonstrated that ground-up organisations can activate and can manage public spaces meaningfully, to the benefit of both businesses and our community.
Today, SRO is widely recognised as a pioneer in driving place management in partnership with the Government, and the Government plays an enabling role, to support SRO.
For example, the recent nightlife revitalisation efforts at areas around the Singapore River, these were borne out of such private-public partnership.
SRO understood that regulatory flexibility must not come at the expense of law and order in the precinct, and SRO offered to step up private security deployments in the area. This gave our security agencies the assurance to ease restrictions within the pilot BID boundary.
We are very encouraged that businesses have put forth many good ideas, new concepts that this flexibility can bring about. I’m pleased to share with everyone that URA has received 20 applications for new bars, pubs and nightclubs at the Boat Quay Historic District, and these are currently being evaluated.
CATALYSING GROWTH AND PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS
The success of pilot BIDs like SRO is testament to what we can be achieve together, when we allow commerce, community, and creativity to converge.
Moving forward, we hope to partner with commercial property and businesses to adopt the BID model in more districts. Last month, I announced that MND will propose new legislation to formalise the BID model in the next two years.
Let me share broadly on the legislation’s key provisions.
First, commercial property owners can come together to initiate BID formation and propose a plan on how to rejuvenate the district. Existing pilot BIDs like SRO already have a head-start in this regard, and we want to encourage you to build upon the good work that you have done during the pilot, and see how we can work together and take it further .
Secondly, once formed, BIDs will be able to collect fees from all eligible commercial property owners within their boundaries to fund and execute their plans. This is important to ensure that the BIDs remain sustainable. It also helps to deal with potential concerns with free riders, who want to enjoy the benefits that the BIDs will bring but do not want to contribute their fair share. So, I think having legislation to make this a requirement, to empower the BIDs to be able to collect fees from eligible commercial property owners, will be a fair and sustainable arrangement for everyone.
The initiators can propose a suitable BID boundary and also the fee arrangement with ground stakeholders, and secure sufficient votes from the stakeholders to be able to form the BID. I hope to be able to share more details with everyone in due course.
SRO’s experience as a pilot BID has brought about positive outcomes for the Singapore River district. We welcome more of such collaborative efforts with the private sector, and we welcome the fresh ideas that new BIDs can bring. Some of these could be ideas that currently we have not tried. We may have seen some of these ideas overseas, or in some other context, but our private sector partners, please propose these ideas, and we will take a look, and we will see how best to support your ideas. These partnerships will make our districts livelier and more vibrant, where businesses can benefit from more footfall, and also the communities can then come together to enjoy more lifestyle options and place-making. If we do it well, I think it will be a win-win for all the stakeholders. This is what my colleagues and I at MND and URA would like to facilitate.
CONCLUSION
Let me end my speech by once again, commending SRO for your leadership, vision, and commitment – not just in making this festival a success, but in partnering the Government over the years to steward the long-term growth of our historic Singapore River district.
Thank you, and I wish everyone a wonderful evening ahead.