Debated in Parliament on 14 Sep 2021.
Mr Ang Wei Neng asked the Minister for National Development what is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on (i) the number of HDB flats to be approved per year under the Home Improvement Programme from 2021 onwards, (ii) the progress of the existing Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) and (iii) the number of HDB blocks to be approved for future LUP.
In 2020, we selected the first batch of approximately 56,000 flats under the extended Home Improvement Programme (HIP), which covers blocks built between 1987 and 1997 and comprises 230,000 flats. Future selections will be made progressively, with the number of flats selected each year taking into consideration the Government’s fiscal position, as well as construction capacity, which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, we hope to complete the programme within our earlier projection of 10 years.
HDB has implemented the LUP for over 5,000 blocks. Work on all ongoing LUP projects has resumed, but the expected completion date has been delayed by about a year, due to the circuit breaker period last year, the manpower crunch in the construction sector, and the need to comply with onsite safe management measures. HDB has been working with BCA and MOM to mitigate the delays and manpower challenges and will continue to update residents on the progress of the LUP works.
There remain about 150 blocks, with about 2,000 units without direct lift access, where it is not feasible to implement LUP due to high cost, or existing technical and site constraints. For such blocks, HDB will continue to explore new methods to bring down LUP costs and alternatives to improve accessibility for residents living in flats without direct lift access. Residents living in these blocks who are in urgent need of direct lift access due to medical conditions or mobility reasons are eligible for the Lift access Housing Grant (LHG) of up to $30,000 when they buy another flat with direct lift access.
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