Category Archives: General

Obstacle course to the Sports Hub

THE Sports Hub is to be the newest jewel in Singapore’s stock of world-class infrastructure. As is the case with the Esplanade performing arts venue, it is an emblem of the nation’s steady transition to creativity and quality leisure. The stadium complex planned for Kallang is still what the advance publicity says it is. The design features which include a retractable roof undoubtedly will blow the people away when the facility with its related amenities opens for business.

This is the question on every lip: When? The project is behind schedule before even the first sod is turned. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the minister whose brief includes sport, said budget volatility on account of building and interest costs made it unwise to rush it. On this reckoning, delay could be indefinite. It is projected that the replacement for the National Stadium will not be ready for the 2013 Southeast Asian Games which Singapore is scheduled to host. Singaporeans are not accustomed to being smirked at over planning and organisation, their forte. Although the Games are not a marque event, passing them up because the main venue is nowhere near ready will be a letdown. Continue reading

Singapore’s S$500m International Cruise Terminal breaks ground

Singapore hopes to ride the wave of growth in the cruise industry with a new International Cruise Terminal which broke ground on Friday.

The facility at Marina South, costing S$500 million, comes as global demand for the cruise market is estimated to hit 27 million passengers by 2020 – a two-fold growth within a decade.

The cruise industry is still sailing smoothly despite the economic downturn. Global cruise passengers are expected to number 13.5 million this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association based in the US.

Asia Pacific accounts for 7 per cent of the world’s cruise market and Singapore wants to become a cruise hub.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) expects to welcome its one millionth cruise passenger by year-end – the highest in 10 years. In the first half of this year, passenger arrivals grew 20 per cent on-year to 540,000.

At the groundbreaking of the International Cruise Terminal, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said: “Since the Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront commenced operations in 1991, Singapore’s cruise passenger throughput has been rising steadily as evidenced by the average annual growth rate of 12 per cent in the last five years. Continue reading