Beneficiaries of and Amount Spent on Neighbourhood Renewal Programme

Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many constituencies have benefitted from HDB's Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) from 2007-2014; (b) which are the constituencies that have benefited from NRP after 2011; and (c) what is the total amount of monies disbursed for NRP from 2007-2014.

The Minister of State for National Development (Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman) (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, since its launch, 100 projects have been selected for the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), benefitting 22 constituencies.

However, selection of projects is not by constituencies, but at the Town Council (TC) level. This allows MND to ensure a good geographical spread of projects, while at the same time better meet the preferences of the TCs. As part of the selection process, TCs are required to nominate and prioritise their preferred precincts and MND will strive to meet them within the limits of the approved NRP budget. Since 2011, 41 projects have been selected, with each TC getting from one to five projects each. The only exception is the East Coast TC where all eligible NRP blocks had already been selected.

From FY2007 to FY2013, about $150 million has been disbursed under the NRP.

Mrs Lina Chiam (Non-Constituency Member): I have four supplementary questions in regards to the NRP. What was the first constituency chosen as the first batch or sites to have undergone NRP in 2007, and when were these flats built? Can the Minister of State let the House know who are the people comprised in the Committee to decide which sites in a constituency are eligible for NRP? Why is Toa Payoh Lorong 8 first, although some of the flats were built as early as 1974? What is the time frame for public consultation by residents for feedback for NRP?

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Madam, perhaps I can clarify first. The Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) was announced in 2007. The NRP focusses on blocks and neighbourhood improvements and is implemented on the neighbourhood basis, if it is more than two or more constituency precincts. It is meant for blocks that are built up to December 1989 but have not undergone any Main Upgrading Programme (MUP), or Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP or IUP Plus). So, we do not do NRP for precincts that have already undergone some of these upgrading programmes.

The question was what were the first few constituencies. I do not have the details of the breakdown by each constituency when we started out 2007. But just to say that, as I had mentioned earlier, we give it by Town Councils. We ask the Town Councils to nominate and when we started out, we were trying to see how to implement the projects. So, at that point in time, not all Town Councils may have received or selected their nominated precincts.

Since 2011, we have started ramping up. At that point, LUP was coming to the tail end of the programme. By 2011, we were able to select at least one nominated precinct by each of the Town Council.

On the time frame, the challenges in NRP are that it works differently from the LUP and the other upgrading programmes. Because residents are not required to pay and the works are done externally, NRP requires a lot more consultations because of the space that is being upgraded. There is a two-stage consultation process: one is the public consultation; and the other is the consensus-gathering stage. The engagement process is very critical. First, it really depends on the size of the precinct that has been nominated and selected. Secondly, it really depends on the level of consultation and the extent to which the residents can find consensus in terms of the kind of works that they would like to have. This would engender greater ownership for the works done.

It is very difficult to say what is the average time frame. It usually takes four to five years in total from nomination to completion. But some may complete earlier, depending on the consensus built by the residents on the kind of works that they want to have.

The other objective of the NRP is also to encourage greater community spirit in the community, so that neighbours come together and they realise the kinds of things that they can and want to have, and at the same time, meeting the various needs of the various demographic profiles of that particular neighbourhood.

Mrs Lina Chiam: I have another supplementary question for the Minister of State. According to my Parliamentary Question (PQ) No 4, under (b), what are the constituencies that have benefitted from NRP after 2011?

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Madam, as I have said in my reply, we do not select the projects at the constituency level. We select them based on those nominated by Town Councils. As of now, 22 constituencies have benefitted from the NRP projects. All TCs have nominated since 2011, and at least one project each TC has been selected since 2011.