SINGAPORE: Government agency Sport Singapore (SportSG) will take over the ownership and management of the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang from Dec 9, with plans to make it more accessible to the broader community in Singapore.
Announcing this on Friday (Jun 10), SportSG said it has reached a mutual agreement with current operator SportsHub Pte Ltd (SHPL) to terminate their public-private partnership.
Sports Hub has been in operation for eight years since it was completed in 2014.
"The aspirations and needs of Singapore, as well as the wider operating environment for sports and entertainment, have changed considerably since then," SportSG and SHPL said in a joint media release.
"Ownership and direct management of the Sports Hub will thus enable SportSG to have greater control
and flexibility over the Sports Hub.
"With this move, SportSG will drive stronger social, sporting and economic outcomes through the Sports Hub, maximise its potential and also take advantage of the synergies with the Kallang Alive precinct development."
At a media conference, SportSG chairman Kon Yin Tong noted that there is also greater competition in the region with new sports facilities being developed.
“We have made the decision after careful consideration,” he added. “We need to maximise the value of the Sports Hub … with a view to ensuring that it keeps up with the times and competitive landscape, as well as the new needs of the nation."
SportSG will set up a new corporate entity to run the sporting arena and work with private sector partners “in a more flexible arrangement” for particular programmes or events, said its chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin.
The 35-hectare Singapore Sports Hub was built at a cost of S$1.33 billion. Apart from the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, it also includes an indoor aquatics arena, the multi-purpose OCBC Arena, a water sports centre, the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Kallang Wave Mall.
The project is a public-private partnership between the Government and SHPL, a consortium made up of four companies namely Infrared Capital Partners, Dragages Singapore, Cushman & Wakefield Facilities & Engineering and Global Spectrum Asia.
SHPL was engaged in 2010 and has a 25-year contract to design, build, finance and operate the Sports Hub.
Under the arrangement, the Government makes annual payments of S$193.7 million to SHPL, which started in 2014, to run the Sports Hub.
The terms of the project agreement allowed SportSG to decide if and when the project should be terminated and for it to take over the ownership and management of the Sports Hub.
“There is no penalty for the termination, which can be done at any time SportSG chooses,” stated the media release.
Upon termination, SportSG will pay SHPL a sum that “substantially” comprises outstanding loans taken by SHPL for the construction of the Sports Hub and a “fair open market value” of the Sports Hub.
The former, according to the agency, is an expenditure that would have been incurred by the Government had it financed the Sports Hub from the start without the public-private partnership.
Overall, the cost of terminating the arrangement with SHPL and taking over the operations of the Sports Hub is “estimated to be comparable” to the cost of continuing with the public-private partnership arrangement until 2035, SportSG said.
Both parties will engage SHPL employees individually to discuss employment opportunities.
“We intend to retain the expertise and experience of SHPL employees, who will be given the opportunity to transit to the new corporate entity,” said SportSG and SHPL.
Moving forward, both parties said they are committed to working closely together to ensure a smooth handover that will not affect the day-to-day operations and programming of the Sports Hub.
With this move, SportSG said it intends to make the Sports Hub more accessible to the community in terms of sports, lifestyle, entertainment and social uses, while maintaining its commercial sustainability.
“We will strengthen Singapore’s affinity with the Sports Hub through programmes, participation, and accessibility,” it added.
SportSG also noted that with increasing regional competition from other world-class venues, there is a need to strengthen the Sports Hub’s position in the context of the larger Kallang Alive precinct.
Facilities in the upcoming Kallang Alive precinct include the Kallang Football Hub, Kallang Tennis Centre and Youth Hub.
Continue reading...
Announcing this on Friday (Jun 10), SportSG said it has reached a mutual agreement with current operator SportsHub Pte Ltd (SHPL) to terminate their public-private partnership.
Sports Hub has been in operation for eight years since it was completed in 2014.
"The aspirations and needs of Singapore, as well as the wider operating environment for sports and entertainment, have changed considerably since then," SportSG and SHPL said in a joint media release.
"Ownership and direct management of the Sports Hub will thus enable SportSG to have greater control
and flexibility over the Sports Hub.
"With this move, SportSG will drive stronger social, sporting and economic outcomes through the Sports Hub, maximise its potential and also take advantage of the synergies with the Kallang Alive precinct development."
At a media conference, SportSG chairman Kon Yin Tong noted that there is also greater competition in the region with new sports facilities being developed.
“We have made the decision after careful consideration,” he added. “We need to maximise the value of the Sports Hub … with a view to ensuring that it keeps up with the times and competitive landscape, as well as the new needs of the nation."
SportSG will set up a new corporate entity to run the sporting arena and work with private sector partners “in a more flexible arrangement” for particular programmes or events, said its chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
The 35-hectare Singapore Sports Hub was built at a cost of S$1.33 billion. Apart from the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, it also includes an indoor aquatics arena, the multi-purpose OCBC Arena, a water sports centre, the Singapore Indoor Stadium and Kallang Wave Mall.
The project is a public-private partnership between the Government and SHPL, a consortium made up of four companies namely Infrared Capital Partners, Dragages Singapore, Cushman & Wakefield Facilities & Engineering and Global Spectrum Asia.
SHPL was engaged in 2010 and has a 25-year contract to design, build, finance and operate the Sports Hub.
Under the arrangement, the Government makes annual payments of S$193.7 million to SHPL, which started in 2014, to run the Sports Hub.
The terms of the project agreement allowed SportSG to decide if and when the project should be terminated and for it to take over the ownership and management of the Sports Hub.
“There is no penalty for the termination, which can be done at any time SportSG chooses,” stated the media release.
Upon termination, SportSG will pay SHPL a sum that “substantially” comprises outstanding loans taken by SHPL for the construction of the Sports Hub and a “fair open market value” of the Sports Hub.
The former, according to the agency, is an expenditure that would have been incurred by the Government had it financed the Sports Hub from the start without the public-private partnership.
Overall, the cost of terminating the arrangement with SHPL and taking over the operations of the Sports Hub is “estimated to be comparable” to the cost of continuing with the public-private partnership arrangement until 2035, SportSG said.
Both parties will engage SHPL employees individually to discuss employment opportunities.
“We intend to retain the expertise and experience of SHPL employees, who will be given the opportunity to transit to the new corporate entity,” said SportSG and SHPL.
Moving forward, both parties said they are committed to working closely together to ensure a smooth handover that will not affect the day-to-day operations and programming of the Sports Hub.
GREATER ACCESS TO SPORTS HUB
With this move, SportSG said it intends to make the Sports Hub more accessible to the community in terms of sports, lifestyle, entertainment and social uses, while maintaining its commercial sustainability.
“We will strengthen Singapore’s affinity with the Sports Hub through programmes, participation, and accessibility,” it added.
SportSG also noted that with increasing regional competition from other world-class venues, there is a need to strengthen the Sports Hub’s position in the context of the larger Kallang Alive precinct.
Facilities in the upcoming Kallang Alive precinct include the Kallang Football Hub, Kallang Tennis Centre and Youth Hub.
Continue reading...