Debated in Parliament on 14 Apr 2014.
Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development what is the roadmap to bring the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) to the 200 blocks of HDB flats that are currently without full lift access now that the main LUP is coming to an end in December.
Mdm Speaker, the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) is a $5 billion programme to equip HDB blocks without direct lift access with lift access on every floor. Within this budget, the implementation of LUP has to be subject to reasonable cost caps.
LUP has over time covered 98% of flats in blocks built without direct lift access in Singapore, benefiting some 500,000 households from 5,000 blocks. The remaining 2%, however, are difficult for LUP because of the block configuration and other technical constraints, resulting in very high costs per unit. Nevertheless, HDB tried its best and found some solutions for these flats. It successfully reduced the initial 1,000 such blocks to about 200 blocks through the adoption of new technologies and innovative solutions.
HDB will continue to look for new technology solutions to overcome the current technical and cost constraints. We are piloting some possible solutions that look promising. However, we require some time to assess their suitability and user response. Meanwhile, residents who require direct lift access because of their medical conditions can approach HDB for special assistance.
I just want to ask whether the Ministry will consider engaging those blocks by providing the cost, such as the cost of original LUP, to that block and let the residents decide. If it is marginally more, the residents may be able to want to vote on it and be willing to pay.
The second question is, under the original LUP, there is economy of scale. Going back to only these 200 blocks, if you were to implement just for these 200 blocks, would it not be more expensive than if the implementation for these 200 blocks not be put under the original LUP programme?
Well, Madam, 200 blocks still is a sizeable number as far as realising the economies of scale is concerned. But I think the issue is not really economies of scale. The issue is out of this very difficult configuration and sometimes the benefiting units are in between units that have lift access,
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how do you demolish existing balconies and punch through lift access shafts and so on? So, these are the kinds of challenges.
The cost is not just marginal. Some of the costs are as good as building new flats itself. It is a very difficult cost-benefit situation. Based on some of the solutions that we are experimenting with, such as what we call the pneumatic vacuum elevator and the vertical platform lifts, some of these are being tried out. They still have not been installed but we will install them. Some of these really require user feedback to see how robust they are in serving traffic when it is installed in HDB flats rather than in special venues.
The overall approach we take is one that, within our means, we will adopt innovative solutions that can mitigate or help solve some of these problems. In fact, some of them will not turn out very ideal because the blocks per se, if you build certain lift shafts, it becomes very convenient for residents at large but it may affect certain units facing the lift shafts in particular. So, there is no perfect solution. But the short answer is we will continue to try.
Thank you, Madam. I thank the Senior Minister of State. I would like to ask if the Senior Minister of State would consider several measures. One, to consider increasing the cost cap for the LUP programme. In view of the fact that many of the designs were designs of old which were not really the fault of the residents, not their doing. If we could increase the cost cap, then we could avoid the situation where we ask the elderly or the more disabled to leave or to move away.
The next thing that I would like to ask the Ministry to consider is before the final solution is implemented and developed, could there be some temporary measures to help some of the elderly residents to, for example, move from floor to floor, or to the floor where the lifts are available? I have seen in some homes wheelchairs that can slide down the railings. I wonder if the Ministry or HDB could consider some of these measures.
And knowing this is not an easy problem to resolve, I wonder if there could be a programme by which we could engage a bigger group of Singaporeans to propose certain solutions, either through the tertiary organisations or the general public, whether temporary or permanent, to help resolve this, to me, a very important issue.
Madam, I thank the Member Denise Phua for her very good suggestions. I can understand the needs out there. In short, yes, we
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welcome these suggestions. We have a particular exercise running for two years now called "Cool Ideas for Better HDB Living". We have asked HDB residents and some of the University and Polytechnic students to come forward with ideas that can help improve HDB living. And in this particular case, certainly we can look into asking them for ideas that can help immobile or physically challenged residents without lift access to see how they can access the lifts better.
On the cost cap, I think we should also realise that it is not just adjusting the cost caps incrementally. Some of these costs are two to three times the cost caps. So, it is a huge cost. It is not something that within reason we can easily say, "Let's do it".
Also, it is not so much design. We cannot blame it totally on design. I remember distinctly when I was growing up and living in HDB flats for 20 years, there was a period of time people generally disliked choosing units next to the lifts because they value privacy more than anything else so they would choose units that were further away. So, the needs and lifestyles have changed. We have come to such a point that lift access becomes of great importance and becomes appreciated. We have to continue to adjust and see how our flat configurations can suit the new needs. In this case, it is retrofitting. I am sure our new flat design has all taken into consideration accessibility and universal design to aid mobility. So, in short, yes, we will consider all these suggestions.
Mdm Speaker, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State for the remaining 200 units, for those who really need the lift, the Ministry is willing to help them to relocate, am I right? Okay. Currently, the cap, the construction cost is $30,000. Will the Ministry consider giving them the $30,000 for them to relocate?
Well, we look at every case on a case-by-case basis. Sometimes, it is not the financials that they need. Sometimes, it is really the other form of assistance, maybe HDB loan and so on. Let us look at the specific case and see who else requires such assistance. Like the Member Ms Denise Phua said earlier, some people prefer to stay in the same place rather than moving away. There is a trade-off between going to a new place with lift access and staying at the same old place.
As I see it, there are two limiting factors. The first is the deadline for the LUP project, a nationwide LUP project. The second is the cost cap. My question is, after the deadline,
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should there be advancements in engineering, advancements in the manner in which we can install lifts, thereby reducing the amount payable per unit to something in the region of the cost cap or, perhaps even below that, would the Government be still willing to consider putting lifts in? And I use as an example, Sunset Way, where it was previously above the cost cap and then we looked at it and we looked at it again. And then a solution was found. So, would there be open-mindedness on the Ministry's part for that?
Yes, Mdm Speaker, we are open to look at solutions beyond this timeline. This timeline is to end this year but if we continue to find solutions that make sense we will definitely consider them.
Madam, just one quick question for the Senior Minister of State. The new technology that the Senior Minister of State mentioned earlier, does it cater to low-rise or just high-rise flats? Because I know that certain technology can only cater for low-rise flats.
Mdm Speaker, the Member is correct. In our non-eligible units, there are some that are high-rise but many of them are low-rise. Low-rise flats are usually fourth floor so there are very few benefiting units and some of them are segmented. We will find solutions that will suit low-rise and high-rise flats. We will continue to look for solutions, whether it is from the professional circle or from residents themselves.
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