UPGRADING OF SPORTS FACILITIES

UPGRADING OF SPORTS FACILITIES

18.

Mr Baey Yam Keng asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) what is the programme and schedule for upgrading sports facilities to cater to today's public needs; and (b) what are the plans for older facilities like Queenstown Stadium and Swimming Complex, given the trend that newer facilities are integrated with other purposes such as community centres.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: My Ministry recognises that some of our older community sports facilities need to be upgraded to meet the changing needs of Singaporeans. Hence, I have tasked the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to work on a Sports Facilities Master Plan to formulate strategies and plans to optimise the entire landscape of sports and recreational facilities. The aim is to provide affordable facilities to better serve the community, training centres for our elite athletes to help them win medals for Singapore and to help develop the sports industry.

Our experiences in integrating sports and community facilities, such as in Sengkang-Anchorvale and Bukit Panjang-Senja-Cashew, have been very positive with more public using the new facilities compared to the older facilities. For example, the utilisation rate for Sengkang Swimming Complex is 75% higher than other swimming complexes. Further, the integration at Bukit Panjang-Senja-Cashew has also provided residents with greater convenience through the single booking counter to register for both sports and community activities. To continue to reap the benefits of integration, the latest project in the pipeline is the Bedok Sports and Recreation Centre and Kampong Chai Chee Community Club. This redevelopment will see an integration of a new community club and sports facilities such as the swimming complex, sports hall and gymnasium within the town centre. The Sports Facilities Master Plan would explore further collaboration opportunities with other community facilities to provide a one-stop integrated lifestyle centre to meet the changing demands of Singaporeans. Such redevelopment would also be phased in with the ongoing rejuvenation of our towns.

SSC will consult their stakeholders on the Master Plan in the coming months.

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