UPDATE ON *SCAPE BUILDING

UPDATE ON SCAPE BUILDING: 7.

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (a) whether the economic downturn has affected the budget and construction schedule of the *scape building; (b) how much is the viability of this development dependent on the revenue from retail space; and (c) what is the status of the development to-date.

The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (Dr Vivian Balakrishnan): The current economic downturn has not affected the budget or the construction schedule of the *scape building in Orchard Road. The financial standing of the main contractor remains sound and the project is on schedule.

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The construction of this project began in March 2008. At present, the contractors are working on the structural works for the fourth storey of the five-storey building. We are still on schedule to officially launch this in the second quarter of 2010.

We have projected that in the steady state, the commercial revenue would account for approximately 70% of the annual revenue. Revenue from programming and institutional spaces would account for approximately 20%, while sponsorship would account for the remaining 10%. The Government would provide transitional funding totalling $8.5 million for the next four years as the company that is managing this builds up its capability and revenue stream.