HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (Upgrading programme for lifts in older estates)

Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Minister for National Development if the Housing and Development Board will implement a general upgrading programme for lifts to stop at every floor in older HDB estates.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, full lift upgrading to provide lift landings at every floor of an HDB block is already an approved item under the scope of works for the existing upgrading programmes. For the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP), there is sufficient budget for the full lift upgrading. For the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP), the grant was increased on 22nd March this year from $6,000 to $7,000 per dwelling unit to allow Town Councils to carry out full lift upgrading works. With prudent financial planning and management, lift landings at every floor can be provided for precincts which are identified for upgrading, wherever feasible. There is therefore no need for HDB to implement a separate upgrading programme for lifts to stop at every floor in the older HDB estates.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, the Minister is aware that this sum of money set aside in the Interim Upgrading Programme is not adequate, especially considering the fact that not all the estates that are chosen for upgrading are homogeneous, in other words, not every block requires lift upgrading. Therefore, if the money is channelled to blocks of flats where lift upgrading will be done, then there will be very little money left for general upgrading.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I said earlier, under the Main Upgrading Programme, there is sufficient budget for lift upgrading. For the Interim Upgrading Programme, we have raised the budget and we expect the Town Councils to also contribute part of the cost through its sinking fund so as to be able to do the lift upgrading. This is the ordering of priorities within the Town Councils.

Mr Chng Hee Kok: Sir, in view of the fact that lift upgrading is already part of the Main Upgrading Programme and also a small part of the Interim Upgrading Programme, why does the Minister not agree to a general asset enhancement programme - let's call it Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) - to complement both IUP and MUP?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, today, we are already involving almost 15,000 flats every year under the Main Upgrading Programme and a further 25,000 flats under the Interim Upgrading Programme. So every year, we are involving 40,000 flats in upgrading, of which lift upgrading is an item high on the priority of most residents. That constitutes to me a general programme for lift upgrading, 40,000 flats out of HDB's stock of 600,000-700,000 flats. The cost of upgrading the lifts every year is close to $170 million. Unless you can persuade the Minister for Finance to cough up more money for a general lift upgrading programme, I do not see how we can do it any faster.