Committee of Supply – Head T (Ministry of National Development)

Head T (cont) –

Resumption of Debate on Question [4 March 2025],

"That the total sum to be allocated for Head T of the Estimates be reduced by $100." – [Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling].

Question again proposed.

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The Chairman: Minister Desmond Lee.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Mr Chairman, at the start of this term of Government, we faced significant challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was against this backdrop that I outlined the Ministry of National Development's (MND's) priorities during the Debate on the President's Address in 2020.

First, we committed to keep public housing affordable, accessible and inclusive. Second, we said that we will transform Singapore into a City in Nature, one that is more liveable and sustainable. Third, we would continue uplifting our Built Environment (BE) sector, to make it more productive and resilient.

We worked with colleagues, stakeholders and the community to deliver on these priorities. Today, I will speak on housing as well as the BE sector transformation. My colleague, Second Minister Indranee Rajah, will cover long-term planning for our city and support for our construction firms. Senior Minister of State Sim Ann will share our efforts to enhance our living environment. Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How will touch on how we are transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, and Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim will speak about what we are doing for lower-income households.

Let me start with our first priority: affordable and accessible housing. Over the past few years, we grappled with significant housing challenges. The pandemic severely impacted supply. Fear of housing delays also caused demand to spike.

At the same time, there was a broad-based increase in demand driven by changing social norms. Application rates for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats spiked and Housing and Development Board (HDB) resale prices rose sharply. We rolled out various measures over the last few years to address this supply-demand imbalance.

First, we pushed hard to complete the flats delayed by COVID-19. In January this year, HDB caught up on the delays and completed all 75,800 flats that were affected by the pandemic.

Second, we ramped up supply of new housing. We are on track to exceed our commitment to launch 100,000 BTO flats from 2021 to 2025. This is the equivalent of two Ang Mo Kio towns in less than five years, despite the pandemic.

Third, we brought down overall waiting times. We have shortened the median waiting times for BTO flats. In 2024, the median waiting time was less than four years, comparable to the pre-COVID-19 norm of three to four years. We had also previously committed that by 2025, we will build 2,000 to 3,000 shorter waiting time flats, which are flats with a waiting time of two-plus years.

We met this target one year ahead of schedule when we launched more than 2,800 shorter waiting time flats last year in 2024. As a result, BTO application rates for first-timer families have stabilised to below pre-COVID-19 levels, from 3.7 times in 2019 to 2.1 times in 2024. In the most recent February 2025 sales exercise, first-timer family application rates fell further to 1.5 times subscription. This means that first-timer families applying for BTO flats are more likely to receive an invitation to book a flat today than it was before the pandemic.

On the private housing front, we have increased supply through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. In 2024, we released land for around 11,000 private housing units, which is the highest in a single year since 2013.

As a result, the private housing market started to ease in recent years. Private residential property prices increased by 3.9% in 2024, compared to 6.8% in 2023 and 8.6% in 2022, but we will keep pushing on to increase housing supply, to help more Singaporeans meet their housing needs.

This year, we will launch more than 25,000 flats. This includes 19,600 BTO flats and more than 5,500 Sale of Balance flats (SBF) flats. We will also raise private housing supply from the GLS programme to around 8,500 units in the first half of 2025, with more to come later this year. From 2025 to 2027, we will launch more than 50,000 BTO flats.

We will also continue to shorten waiting times. This year, we will launch another 3,800 Shorter Waiting Time flats (SWT). This means that 20% of all BTO flats launched this year in 2025 will be a SWT flat. We launched our largest ever SBF exercise last month, and we will be launching another SBF exercise later this year.

These flats will cover a wide range of locations. This year alone, HDB will be launching BTO flats in around 60% of our towns and estates. Singaporeans can also look forward to more flats in attractive locations, such as Mount Pleasant. With your permission, Mr Chairman, may I display some slides on the LED screens?

The Chairman: Go ahead. [Slides were shown to hon Members.]

Mr Desmond Lee: Thank you, Sir. The first of six BTO projects in Mount Pleasant will be launched in October 2025. The first Mount Pleasant project will be a sizeable development, with approximately 1,500 units of 2-room flexi to 4-room flats, including public rental flats. It will be near the future Mount Pleasant Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Thomson East Coast Line. There will be an eating house and a supermarket within the precinct. Residents will be able to cycle to MacRitchie Reservoir to enjoy nature.

The Toa Payoh Town Centre and the future Toa Payoh Integrated Development will not be far away, with supermarkets, a polyclinic, a library, sports facilities and more. The new estate will be inspired by the area's rich heritage. Six buildings from the Old Police Academy have been conserved.

Even as we ramp up supply, we have kept new flats affordable. We have increased market subsidies for BTO flats to keep them affordable for households, with a wide range of incomes. We also raised the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) last year. First-timer families can now receive up to $120,000 in grants, with lower middle-income households getting more support.

As a result in 2024, more than eight in 10 first-timer families who collected keys to their BTO flats were able to service their HDB loans using their their Central Provident Fund (CPF), with little to no cash outlay. We have taken major steps to ensure that public housing in attractive locations like Mount Pleasant remain affordable. This also ensures that they remain inclusive, an important part of Singapore's social compact, so that Singaporeans of different backgrounds and income levels can live in the same neighbourhood.

At the same time, we need to reduce the lottery effect for those who successfully ballot for such flats, to keep the system of subsidies fair. This is something Miss Cheryl Chan had asked about. We took the first major step four years ago with the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model in 2021. In October last year, we took another big step with the new flat classification framework, categorising BTO projects into Standard, Plus and Prime. We will launch the first Mount Pleasant project as either Plus or Prime. This allows us to unlock new, choicier areas for affordable public housing.

Take the Redhill area near the MRT station, for example. It is currently built up with private residential properties etched in pink. These can be expensive as Redhill is a highly sought-after location. But HDB launched Alexandra Vale in 2022, and then Alexandra Peaks in 2023 in the same area, all under the PLH model.

In July 2025, we will be launching another two BTO projects in the area under the new flat classification framework, one next to Alexandra Peaks and another along Tanglin Road. One of the blocks in Alexandra Peaks will also house public rental flats, allowing lower-income households access to public rental options in these prime areas.

How affordable are Plus and Prime flats? In October last year, Mr Chua Heng Wee and Ms Shermaine Ho, a young couple, applied for a 4-room BTO Plus flat in Merpati Alcove, in Macpherson. They were successful and booked a flat on a high floor early this year, for around $620,000, before grants.

Merpati Alcove is in a very good location, right at the doorstep of Mattar MRT station and within walking distance to the Circuit Road Food Centre. With a combined income of around $7,800 today, they received an EHG of $20,000 and were able to service their mortgage with low cash outlay.

For prime flats, let us look at Tanjong Rhu Parc Front in Tanjong Rhu, which we launched last month. It is a very attractive project near the city centre and a short distance from the riverfront. A 4-room BTO Prime flat in that project is around $640,000, before grants.

A couple with a combined income of $8,500 would receive an EHG of $10,000 and will be able to service their mortgage with a monthly cash outlay of about $180. This is what we mean when we say that we will seek to ensure a wide range of affordable housing options for Singaporeans with different housing budgets.

Let me now turn to the HDB resale market. Singaporeans have been anxious about resale flat prices. Mr Xie Yao Quan asked how resale flats can be kept affordable for Singaporeans. I mentioned earlier that the supply-demand imbalance had led to high resale prices. In these past few years, we have also seen fewer flats reaching their minimum occupation period (MOP), due to fewer flat completions during the pandemic.

In fact, in 2020, HDB should have completed 20,000 flats, but because of the disruptions by the pandemic, we completed fewer than half of that. So, five years on in 2025, with much fewer flats completing their MOP and even fewer flats going on the resale market. The supply tightness should start to recover next year. We expect to see a larger supply of flats entering the resale market, providing options for Singaporeans. There will be a significant jump in the number of new flats reaching MOP, from 8,000 this year, to 13,500 next year, and this will steadily increase until we hit 19,500 in 2028.

The cooling measures that we implemented will also continue to work their way through the market. Taken together, the HDB resale market will stabilise. We will also improve housing accessibility for all Singaporeans. But let me assure first-timer families that we will continue to prioritise you for new flats. First, we tighten the rules on non-selection of flats, to give priority for those with genuine, pressing housing needs.

Next, we also introduced the First-timer (Parents and Married Couples) (or FT(PMC)) category. We have seen positive outcomes so far. Take Ms Nicole Chong and Mr Christopher Edward Sean. They decided to solemnise their marriage before applying for their flat. This made them eligible for the FT(PMC) category. With that, they managed to book their 4-room Standard flat in Sengkang on their very first try!

Nicole and Christopher are just one of the many couples who have benefited from these priority schemes. About nine in 10 First-Timer Parents' and Married Couple applicants have so far been invited to book a flat when they applied for a 4-room or smaller Standard flat. This means that virtually all of them were given the chance to book a flat within two tries in categories where they are given first priority. We have also provided more support to families who need a place to stay while waiting to collect their keys.

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Today, we provide subsidised temporary housing through the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). In recent exercises, all eligible applicants who are married with children aged 18 and below have been invited to select a PPHS flat. We will double PPHS supply again from 2,000 to 4,000 PPHS flats this year. And we have come a long way since 2021, when we started out with 800 PPHS flats. So, some five times increase.

Mr Louis Ng asked whether the Government will consider allowing single unwed parents to qualify for PPHS. To all single parents who have needs, HDB will not turn away your request for housing assistance. We will take a holistic approach to every case and, depending on the needs, we may assist with interim rental housing.

So, for those who are eligible for the schemes that I have mentioned, they likely can book a flat on their first or second try, based on current trends. Then, they can apply for temporary subsidised rental housing through the PPHS. If they booked a SWT flat, they will be able to collect their keys in two-plus years.

Miss Cheryl Chan asked how we plan to keep housing affordable. Aside from first-timer families, we recognise that there are more singles looking to own their own home. Over the years, we have provided singles with greater access to public housing. In the past, singles 35 and above were only allowed to buy HDB resale flats. Then in 2013, the Government allowed first-timer singles to purchase new 2-room BTO flats, but only in non-mature estates.

In recent years, we have made further moves. From October last year, we allowed first-timer singles to apply for 2-room Flexi BTO flats island-wide, including in Prime and Plus locations, and not just Standard. Just last month, one in four of the flats offered at the launch was a 2-room Flexi flat. In fact, we will launch up to 14,000 2-room Flexi BTO flats from 2024 to 2026 and the majority of these will continue to be set aside for singles. From the middle of this year, we will move beyond just access, to providing priority access for singles who wish to live near or with their parents, under the new Family Care Scheme. We also want to look at the needs of other groups, including second-timer families.

In 2022, we had reduced the proportion of BTO supply set aside for second-timer families in order to better prioritise first-timer families because, if Members remember then, first-timer application rates had increased significantly. Application rates for first-timer families have come down. We also hear the concerns of second-timer families who need to buy another subsidised flat. And these include families which have grown and others who may wish to right-size due to financial reasons.

Therefore, we will allow more second-timer families to buy BTO flats by increasing the second-timer allocation quota by five percentage points for 3-room and larger flats. This change will take effect from the July 2025 BTO exercise, that is, the next BTO exercise. HDB will release more details closer to the date. We do not expect significant impact on the application rates for first-timer families as we are continuing to build more BTO flats to meet demand.

We will continue to review our policies to see if there is scope to improve access further for different groups, such as singles and others. Mr Henry Kwek and Miss Cheryl Chan have also asked if we can raise our BTO and Executive Condominium (EC) income ceilings.

Our BTO income ceiling today still covers about eight in 10 Singaporean households. New flats and housing subsidies are prioritised for those who need them more. For those with incomes up to $16,000, we will be increasing EC supply this year to around 1,500 units, up from around 1,200 units in previous years. Those within and above this income bracket, can also choose from a wide range of resale HDB flats or private residential properties, for which there is no income ceiling. We will continue to keep an eye on income growth and market conditions, and will raise the income ceilings when the time is right.

Our second priority is to keep public housing inclusive. We will continue to support the housing needs of different segments of Singaporeans. One segment is our lower-income and vulnerable households, who do not have other housing options and family support at this time. We are making significant moves through the Fresh Start Housing Scheme to support public rental tenants on their home ownership journey, as Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had announced during his Budget Statement. My colleague, Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim, will share more details later.

Sir, another group would be our seniors. Under the Age Well SG programme, we are making our environment more senior-friendly. Miss Cheryl Chan, Ms Carrie Tan and Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin had asked about this.

At the HDB estate level, we will be introducing senior-friendly enhancements for selected HDB estates under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and the Silver Upgrading Programme. These include fitness trails to support healthy living, as well as rest points along pathways to boost walkability.

Within the home, HDB offers subsidised senior-friendly fittings under the Enhancement for Active Seniors programme (EASE). These fittings help to improve the mobility and safety of seniors in their own homes. We expanded the range of subsidised fittings under EASE 2.0 last year, to include fittings like foldable U-grab bars, home fire alarm devices and more. Since EASE and EASE 2.0 were introduced, about 340,000 households have signed up.

Beyond HDB estates, we also plan to help seniors in private residential properties age-in-place. Mr Henry Kwek, Ms Joan Pereira and Ms Denise Phua asked for more details.

We have expanded the scope of the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) to include senior-friendly enhancements, such as barrier-free ramps and covered drains for more walkways. We also have a new EUP for Silver Estates, so that these benefits can reach selected estates that have benefited from EUP some time ago.

We will do more to improve the safety and mobility of our seniors living in private homes within their own home. We will introduce a new programme, EASE(Private), as the Prime Minister had announced during Budget. I remember Ms Denise Phua and Ms Ng Ling Ling asking MND last year to consider this.

EASE(Private) will be available to Singaporean Citizen households living in private properties with at least one senior aged 65 years and above, or who are between 60 and 64 years old and require assistance with at least one of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL). More than 70,000 households will be eligible for subsidies to engage contractors to install a basic list of senior-friendly fittings in their homes, such as grab bars. The Government will subsidise 75% of the cost of these fittings, with the subsidies capped at $1,200.

EASE(Private) is targeted to commence early next year and will be a three-year pilot programme for a start and then, we will have a review. Aside from improvements to the estate and home, we understand that Singaporeans are also concerned about retirement adequacy. Mr Pritam Singh has asked about this. We hear the concerns that those who buy older resale flats might not have saved enough for retirement. But do not worry, we have a system in place today to help home buyers balance between meeting their housing and retirement needs. And a home is also a store of value for retirement.

For those who buy older resale flats, there are limits placed on the use of the CPF Ordinary Account, as well as the amount of HDB housing loan taken. The money set aside can then be used to help home buyers meet their retirement needs. The generous housing grants received by eligible first-timer home buyers are also refunded into their own CPF account when they sell their flat.

Today, seniors can unlock the value of their flats to supplement their retirement income through a number of ways. First, seniors can consider renting out their flat or spare bedroom. They can opt to sell part of their lease back to HDB through the Lease Buyback Scheme. Seniors can also choose to right-size to a smaller home. We will do more for seniors who wish to right-size for their retirement.

Today, the Government provides a Silver Housing Bonus (SHB), of up to $30,000 in cash when seniors right-size to a 3-room or smaller flat. We will make three changes to the SHB, which will take effect from 1 December 2025. First, we will provide an additional $10,000 cash bonus to seniors who right-size to two-room flats or Community Care Apartments. This will bring the maximum bonus quantum from $30,000 currently to $40,000.

Second, we will extend the scheme to more seniors living in private residential properties, with annual values between $21,000 and $31,000. They will receive a bonus of up to $10,000 if they right-size to a 3-room HDB flat and up to $20,000 if they purchase a 2-room HDB flat or Community Care Apartment. With this enhancement, more than 15,000 more seniors can qualify for the SHB. Altogether, the Silver Housing Bonus scheme will cover more than three in four residential properties.

Third, we will adjust the cash top-up requirement so that seniors will qualify for the SHB as long as they commit to a net increase of up to $60,000 in their CPF Retirement Account after right-sizing, for their retirement payouts. This amount can come from their CPF housing refunds, which means that seniors may no longer need to make a cash top-up to qualify for the SHB. This will make it easier for seniors to benefit from the Silver Housing Bonus.

Mr Chairman, our third priority is to rejuvenate our towns. Some Members have asked about the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS). VERS will be one of the ways to enable our towns to be revitalised to refresh the age profile of our public housing stock. When the concept of VERS was first announced back in 2018, we made it clear that VERS will not start until the 2030s, when our first flats are around the 70-year mark. There are no such flats today, nor any within this decade.

VERS is a complex and long-term undertaking and is one of a number of programmes that we will need to rejuvenate and reimagine our public housing estates. We need to carefully and sensitively stage the programme to reduce disamenities to residents living in newer parts of towns. At the same time, we need to ensure that there are enough homes for those who need to relocate.

We will share more details on the mechanics, processes and packages for VERS in due course and seek views from Singaporeans in the process. Meanwhile, we will do a second round of Home Improvement Programme (HIP) upgrading for flats from around the 60- to 70-year mark.

The HIP is today our flagship programme for tackling common maintenance issues faced in our older estates. Under the HIP essential improvements, like repairs to spalling concrete, are fully funded by the Government. Ms Joan Pereira had asked about this.

Looking ahead, we are working with industry partners and research institutes to develop better ways to address maintenance issues in our old estates. As our homes get older, issues, such as spalling concrete and external wall seepage, can be destructive to residents' daily lives.

First, we want to make repairs more durable. For example, HDB introduced the corrosion resistant repair (CRR) method last year. CRR helps to reduce the recurrence of spalling concrete.

Second, we want to improve diagnosis methods, so that we can more accurately pinpoint the root cause of the issue. One example is external wall water seepage. In complex cases, it can be difficult to identify exactly the source of seepage and the extent of repairs needed through visual checks alone.

HDB has started trialling the use of better scanning technology. Similar to an x-ray machine, it allows us to see beneath the surface, to try to trace the root cause of the seepage. If successful, residents can look forward to faster and more accurate diagnosis and swifter repair works. We will trial this technology starting with some 70 flats. Then, we will see if this technology can be scaled up for widespread use.

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Third, we will develop early detection technology, such as predictive data analytics. This allows HDB to put in preventative measures and develop more targeted programmes.

We will push on with research and development (R&D) over the next few years. We plan to invest around $10 million in R&D to build HDB’s capabilities under these three pillars. HDB will progressively launch grant calls to develop ideas. We will also ensure that the technology we develop will be put to good use, by helping out Town Councils and private contractors to strengthen their capabilities.

Sir, as we develop and improve our city, we must make our built environment sector more productive and resilient.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked about our plans to accelerate sector transformation. To better support developers in their transformation efforts, we will revise the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) regime for those who undertake complex projects. Currently, to ensure timely injection of housing supply, most housing developers are required to commence construction within two years, and complete construction and sell all units within five years. Failing which, the upfront remittable ABSD component will be clawed back.

We will therefore extend the ABSD remission timeline for housing developers undertaking these projects. This includes projects that: transform our urban environment at a large scale; optimise land through intensification or integration with other developments including major public infrastructure; rejuvenate older estates; or adopt new technologies to achieve higher productivity targets.

Through this, we want to encourage housing developers and their alliances or firms to undertake projects that will transform our built environment.

Additionally, to encourage early adoption of CORENET X for smaller projects, the Government will extend the qualifying period for the ABSD remission timeline extension for these projects until 31 December 2026. Details will be released in a statement later today.

We will also introduce the Built Environment Technology and Capability (BETC) Grant to support the sector in long-term building capabilities that extend beyond immediate project investments. We will set aside $100 million over five years. This will be used to enhance enterprise capabilities, adoption of advanced technologies and the building of firms’ manpower capabilities.

My colleague, Minister Indranee Rajah, will share more about our efforts to transform the built environment sector in her speech. Mr Chairman, if you allow, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] This year marks Singapore's 60th year of Independence. For 60 years, the Government has stayed true to its mission of providing homes for our people. This commitment has never changed and will not waver.

Today, some elderly parents worry whether their children will be able to afford and purchase homes. We want to assure these parents that we have implemented various measures to ensure their children can afford and acquire homes.

In January this year, we successfully completed all pandemic-delayed HDB projects, delivering over 75,000 HDB units. We have also reduced waiting times for new HDB projects. Last year, the waiting time for new flats was less than four years, similar to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the application rates for first-timer families for BTO flats are lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Last year, we increased the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant to ensure low- and middle-income first-time homebuyers can afford HDB flats. These families can receive up to $120,000 in grants when purchasing BTO flats. Last year's data also shows that most first-time homebuyers can use their CPF to pay their monthly instalments, with only minimal cash outlay required and some not needing to use any cash at all.

Although the situation has stabilised, the Government will continue to launch many HDB flats for Singaporeans to apply for.

In the next three years, we will launch over 50,000 HDB units. This is equivalent to one Ang Mo Kio town. This means that between 2021 and 2025, we will launch over 100,000 units, exceeding our previous target.

This year, we will also launch 3,800 HDB units with shorter waiting times of two-plus years. These shorter waiting time flats make up one-fifth of total supply. We will also launch another round of Sale of Balance Flats later this year.

Many are familiar with the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme and have received Government subsidies to install elderly-friendly features, like grab bars and ramps, in their homes. We will extend the EASE programme to elderly households living in private properties to make their home environment more accessible and safer. The programme will begin early next year for a period of three years, with details to be announced later.

We will continue to address common maintenance issues in older HDB flats through the Home Improvement Programme, such as spalling concrete and external wall seepage, while continuing to develop more inspection technologies and repair methods.

For retired seniors who wish to monetise their flats to supplement their living expenses, we will provide more assistance. We will enhance the Silver Housing Bonus scheme to benefit more seniors. From 1 December 2025, seniors who right-size to 2-room Flexi flats or Community Care Apartments will receive an additional $10,000 bonus. This means the maximum bonus they can receive will increase from the current $30,000 to $40,000.

Currently, elderly homeowners need to use cash proceeds from their flat sale to top up their CPF Retirement Account to receive the bonus. We will adjust this rule. Homeowners can use the CPF refund from their flat sale to top-up their CPF Retirement Account. This way, seniors may no longer need to use cash to be eligible for the Silver Housing Bonus.

Additionally, we will expand the scheme. Currently, the Silver Housing Bonus is only available to private property owners with Annual Value below $21,000. We will extend the scheme to private property owners with Annual Value below $31,000, allowing them to benefit as well.

Let me summarise.

Our pioneers' foresight laid a strong foundation that allows us to enjoy high-quality living today; our homeownership rate is among the highest globally. We will carry on with this mission.

This is our promise to Singaporeans: whether it is you, your children or grandchildren, everyone will be able to have a safe haven, living and pursuing their dreams in a warm and harmonious environment.

(In English): Mr Chairman, let me conclude. At MND, we have had the privilege to work with many talented architects, planners, builders, dedicated colleagues, industry partners, conservationists, NGOs, nature groups, and so on. They have contributed to making Singapore a distinctive global city and an enduring home for Singaporeans.

Five years ago, we plunged into crisis mode. COVID-19 had long-tail effects, particularly for construction, but we have caught up and we have sought to address as many pain points as possible. We have completed all COVID-19 delayed flats. We are on track to launch more than 130,000 flats over seven years from 2021 to 2027. We have shortened BTO waiting times this year to the pre-COVID-19 norm. BTO application rates are now lower than during pre-COVID-19 levels. We opened up access to singles and will be restoring some of the access for second-timer families. On the HDB resale market, we implemented cooling measures and ramped up the supply of flats, which will stabilise the market over time.

At the same time, we have worked to prepare for the longer term. We introduced the New Flat Classification Framework during the pandemic. In doing so, we ensure social mixing in different parts of Singapore now and in the future. We are also planning bigger moves for areas such as Mount Pleasant, Greater Southern Waterfront, Paya Lebar Airbase and Turf City. This will create more space for Singaporeans, for their homes, dreams and aspirations.

As Singapore grows and develops, we have also been deliberate in ensuring that we conserve nature and protect our heritage. Given our very limited land and resources, this is not an easy feat. It requires thoughtful and disciplined long-term planning, building on the good work of our predecessors to dream bigger for the future, and to dream sustainably.

And we are not done yet. It is an ongoing journey and Singapore will always be a work in progress. And through it all, we will continue working with Singaporeans as custodians and stakeholders to shape our social compact and achieve our shared vision to create a home where Singaporeans can thrive, where no one is left behind. This is our enduring commitment for an endearing home. [Applause.]

The Chairman: Minister Indranee Rajah.

The Second Minister for National Development (Ms Indranee Rajah): Mr Chairman, we have transformed our city and our island in the last 60 years, despite our limited land. This is enabled by our integrated planning framework, which allows agencies to coordinate land use and development needs. Agencies also closely engage citizens and industry, enabling active participation from stakeholders.

Effective implementation is equally critical. We will need to push the boundaries for productivity, sustainability and resiliency, to keep Singapore a liveable city for many generations to come.

Today, I will share how we are working closely with our stakeholders to revitalise our city for the future: first, we will continue to engage Singaporeans on our Draft Master Plan (DMP) 2025, even as we prepare for the mid-year launch of the DMP2025; second, we will transform the built environment sector to strengthen our productivity and sustainability; and third, we will continue to enhance the accessibility and inclusivity of our city.

The Master Plan is a statutory plan that translates longer-term land use strategies from the Long-Term Plan into detailed plans and policies to guide physical development over the next 10 to 15 years. It is instrumental to shaping our city’s future, by balancing economic, social and environmental considerations.

Since the DMP2025 public engagement was launched in October 2023, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has engaged over 175,000 people on its key themes, which are: one, shaping a happy, healthy city; two, enabling sustainable growth; three, stewarding nature and heritage, and four, strengthening urban resilience. These engagements have generated greater awareness and appreciation amongst Singaporeans of the complexities and challenges of land use planning in Singapore, which require balancing housing, jobs, green spaces, infrastructure and heritage, all within our limited land and sea space. Given the DMP’s importance, we encourage all Singaporeans to participate in the ongoing engagements.

We have ambitious plans for coastal protection against the impacts of climate change. These include the “Long Island” currently being studied as part of DMP2025. "Long Island" is a good example of how we use imagination and innovation to overcome our land constraints and address multiple challenges with an integrated solution.

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First, "Long Island" will protect against rising sea levels; second, it will mitigate floods for the low-lying East Coast; third, it will increase our water supply resilience with the creation of a new freshwater reservoir; and finally, it provides optionality for growth, through the creation of new spaces for housing, jobs and recreation, for future generations of Singaporeans.

Given its scale and complexity, we need to start our preparations for "Long Island" as soon as possible. We have initiated technical studies, including environmental studies, while simultaneously engaging stakeholders and members of the public to gather ideas and suggestions.

Beyond infrastructure, we want to create spaces where we can feel connected to one another and the environment. This involves preserving our built heritage so that we have a physical anchor to our past and memories.

Mr Keith Chua has asked how the Government will support heritage businesses. MND and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) have set up a Task Force on Heritage Businesses, Traditional Activities and Cultural Life. Led by Minister of State Faishal Ibrahim and Senior Minister of State for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth and the Ministry of Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling, the task force aims to strengthen support for heritage businesses and traditional activities so that our built heritage areas retain their character and “soul”. The Minister for Culture, Community and Youth or Senior Minister of State Low Yen Ling will share more about this task force at MCCY’s Committee of Supply (COS) debate.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked how public feedback, especially on high-rise developments in built-up residential areas, is incorporated into our plans, such as those at Amber Road. In land-scarce Singapore, we have to optimise our limited land resources to meet a wide range of diverse needs, including housing, transportation and community spaces. This is especially important for work and residential areas nearer to MRT stations, including the Amber Road area near the newly completed Tanjong Katong TEL station, which can allow more residents to enjoy the convenience of living near transport nodes and amenities. The Government will study the feedback raised, such as on density and traffic, and consider mitigating measures where feasible. With careful planning and thoughtful design, we will continue to safeguard a quality living environment for all Singaporeans, while balancing our diverse land use needs.

Mr Louis Chua asked how the Government can enhance amenities and infrastructure to enhance liveability and inclusiveness in Sengkang. These will be factored into and featured at the upcoming DMP2025 exhibition, which is the culmination of our public engagements, from June 2025 onwards. The DMP2025 exhibition will display our planning vision, strategies and development plans for the next 10 to 15 years and be brought to various locations island-wide. We encourage everyone to visit the DMP2025 exhibition.

Next, I move to our plans to build a strong and dynamic built environment (BE) sector. The last five years were not easy for the BE sector. The sector was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help the sector, the Government provided a slew of support, including significant financial assistance through the $1.36 billion Construction Package; legal support for firms unable to meet their contractual obligations due to the pandemic; and support for contractors to bring in foreign workers, as they were faced with manpower shortages when we restarted construction works. This experience has strengthened our resolve to transform the BE sector, which has been so pivotal to Singapore’s development.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan has asked for an update on the progress of the BE Industry Transformation Map (ITM) efforts. We are on track to hit our target of 70% by 2025 for both the adoption of Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD), which enables greater collaboration between stakeholders, and Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), which shifts construction offsite to safer and more productive settings before onsite assembly.

With advancements in science and technology, the BE sector is moving from bricks and mortar to smart technology, encompassing AI-assisted tools, automation and digital collaboration across the construction lifecycle, from planning and design, to construction and inspection. CORENET X, a one-stop digital platform that streamlines regulatory approvals, allows architects and engineers to ensure regulatory compliance more easily and focus on innovation.

In the construction phase, firms are also deploying technological solutions to improve worker safety. For example, Zheng Keng Engineering and Construction has incorporated AI into their onsite safety surveillance system, so site managers can intervene immediately during risky situations.

BCA has also recently implemented virtual Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) inspections through virtual scans, as an alternative inspection option to conventional, physical site inspections. We are working with agencies to expand these efforts.

As part of our continued efforts to drive transformation under the BE ITM, the Government will introduce a new Built Environment Technology and Capability (BETC) Grant to further support the development of long-term capabilities of all firms in the sector. BE firms can receive up to 70% funding support to develop enterprise capabilities, technology adoption and manpower capabilities. One hundred million dollars will be set aside over a five-year period for the grant, which will accept applications from 1 April. I strongly encourage firms to approach BCA for more information and to apply.

The Government will also continue to encourage our local construction industry to adopt productive technologies. MOF has announced the Land Intensification Allowance (LIA) scheme will be extended until the end of 2030, which allows companies investing in Integrated Construction and Prefabrication Hubs (ICPHs), to receive tax allowance on their capital investment. We are reviewing the types of construction facilities supported by the LIA and will share more details when ready.

However, transformation goes beyond technology. At the heart of any successful sector are the people, in this case, the built environment professionals – the architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and more. This is why we have set up the Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants in September 2024, co-led by myself and Mr Chaly Mah, Chairman of Surbana Jurong Group.

Over the last few months, the task force has been engaging a wide range for stakeholders, including young professionals and firms in the BE sector. We were heartened to learn that young BE professionals gain immense satisfaction from contributing to Singapore’s built environment. They take pride in designing and constructing buildings that improve the lives of future generations – a hospital that cares for the sick, a school that nurtures the next generation, or a landmark that puts Singapore on the world map.

However, professionals have also expressed concerns on the sector’s pay, career development opportunities and HR support. We have also heard that some firms put in lowly-priced tender bids at the expense of quality and business sustainability.

Let me provide an update on the task force’s efforts and preliminary recommendations, in response to Mr Henry Quek and Mr Lim Biow Chuan’s questions. First, the task force is looking at how we can strengthen and support the BE consultancy trade associations and chambers (TACs), such as the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) and the Association of Consulting Engineers Singapore (ACES), to play a greater role in uplifting the sector.

The TACs are critical if we are to succeed. The task force will study how to help our TACs build up their capabilities, including areas, such as sector branding, catalysing members’ adoption of technology and capability building. We will share more details when ready.

Second, the task force aims to make the BE sector a career of choice for talented Singaporeans passionate about shaping Singapore’s physical development. We have also heard our youths’ concerns on the sector’s pay and appeal. In response, the task force is working with the firms, TACs, Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and professional boards to enhance internship experiences and review the starting salaries for fresh graduates. Several progressive firms, such as Arup Singapore, Beca, DP Architects and ID Architects, have already put these in place and we encourage more firms to do so.

To Miss Rachel Ong’s question, our agencies actively facilitate opportunities for our local architects to participate in public sector projects and showcase their capabilities, through design competitions and tenders. Many local architectural firms have put forth innovative design proposals for unique projects of varying scales and types, ranging from landmark developments, such as the Pinnacle@Duxton, new civic and public spaces, like Geylang Serai Cultural Belt, to signature buildings, such as the upcoming NS Square.

We have also heard in-service professionals requesting more career development opportunities and improved HR support. I am pleased to announce a new collaboration amongst SIA, ACES and the Institute for HR Professionals (IHRP) to roll out HR transformation support to help firms enhance career development support.

Third, the task force has heard that some firms tended to put in lowly-priced tender bids at the expense of quality and business sustainability. To address this, the Government has been progressively enhancing our tender evaluation approaches to deter fee-diving and strengthen the quality-based procurement criteria.

The proportion of tenders awarded to low outlier bids has declined significantly from 2017 to 2024, with the majority of public sector tenders awarded to the top-quality bids. However, we can and will do more.

The Government will further expand our tender evaluation approach to disadvantage low outlier bids for a wider range of public sector projects. We will also review our procurement contracts to ensure a fairer balance of risks between service buyers and BE consultants. Beyond public sector projects, we strongly encourage the private sector service buyers to enhance your procurement practices. This will give the industry greater assurance to compete on quality, offer differentiated value propositions, and invest in human capital, technologies and innovation.

Fourth, we want our BE consultants to harness the ongoing technological revolution to grow their capabilities, profits and careers. For example, SAA Architects, a Singapore home-grown firm, has been able to speed up its early design processes by leveraging GenAI-powered automation tools. This lets them focus on higher value work, such as analysis and study of their designs.

Harnessing technologies can also improve BE consultants’ career prospects. When Mr Muhammad Khalil started his career as a draftsman in 2025, manual drawing was still prevalent. [Please refer to the clarification later in the debate.] Over the years, Mr Khalil upskilled to use technologies, such as building information models (BIM) and AI tools, which opened up new career opportunities. Today, Mr Khalil is a Senior Vice President at Boustead Projects, where he partners developers, builders and fellow consultants to leverage digital technologies to deliver building projects more efficiently.

To guide more firms and BE professionals to embark on their transformation journeys, I am pleased to announce that BCA will put together a one-stop compilation of the programmes and initiatives that support firms to transform their capabilities and upskill their employees. I encourage firms to tap on these resources to accelerate their transformation journeys.

The task force will continue working on these highlighted areas. Our efforts will also address some of the feedback that businesses have provided to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Pro-Enterprise Rules Review, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong. We welcome further inputs ahead of our finalised recommendations in the second half of 2025.

As we revitalise and build our city, we must ensure its inclusiveness to different segments of our society. As such, we had convened a Code Review Committee, to review the Code on Accessibility in the Built Environment.

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The Code review seeks to address the current gaps and anticipate the future needs of persons with disabilities (PwDs), the elderly and young families with children.

For example, enhancements to lactation room standards to better support the needs of breastfeeding mothers have been proposed. The Code Review Committee has recommended to: first, lower the GFA threshold for the provision of lactation rooms; and second, expand the list of mandatory features that lactation rooms are to be equipped with, such as seats and side tables. In addition, we will continue to provide funding support through the Accessibility Fund, to encourage owners of existing older buildings to upgrade their premises with inclusive features.

We thank the public for your views during our consultation. The Code will be finalised and released in the second quarter of 2025 and the industry will be given sufficient lead time before the Code takes effect.

Mr Ong Hua Han asked whether the Government would consider extending the benefits of HDB’s Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme to PwDs.

While EASE is designed to meet the needs of seniors, we understand that EASE may also be helpful for other HDB residents with mobility challenges. HDB assesses applications from those who do not meet the eligibility criteria on a case-by-case basis. Social agencies and healthcare professionals may advise PwDs staying in HDB flats to approach HDB for assistance if they are looking for in-home fittings.

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and SG Enable also have a suite of existing initiatives to support PwDs to live independently in the community.

Mr Chairman, in conclusion, our future is shaped by the collective efforts of every segment of society. I urge each of you to actively participate in the upcoming Draft Master Plan Exhibition and our other initiatives that will contribute to shaping Singapore’s urban landscape, as part of our continuous efforts to revitalise and enhance our home.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Ms Sim Ann): Mr Chairman, I thank Members for their cuts.

I will speak on four areas: first, maintaining affordable cooked food options in the neighbourhood; second, making physical enhancements to our neighbourhoods to take care of the needs of more users; third, improving the delivery of municipal services; and lastly, resolving complex community challenges.

Let me first update on our efforts to ensure affordable cooked food options in our estates.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong and Mr Henry Kwek will be pleased to hear that our Budget Meal initiative has made good progress since it was announced in March 2023. As of January 2025, more than 60% of 397 HDB rental coffeeshops and about 30% of 403 privately-owned HDB coffeeshops now offer budget meals.

This means budget meals can now be found at many more heartland locations throughout the island. If we were to draw a radius of 400 metres or about five to 10 minutes walking distance around every coffeeshop offering budget meals, more than 80% of HDB flats would be covered.

Credit goes to the collective efforts of the Community Development Councils, HDB and Enterprise Singapore for achieving this coverage. In particular, the agencies jointly encouraged nine coffeeshop chain operators to come onboard the Community Budget Meal initiative in July 2024.

All these stalls offering budget meals can be found on the BudgetMealGoWhere portal, a collaboration between HDB and GovTech, that allows users to search for the nearest coffeeshop with budget meal options. Since its launch, the BudgetMealGoWhere portal has been well-received, and has recorded more than 450,000 unique visitors.

To reach out to more people, including seniors who may not be active online, MND and HDB have publicised the budget meal initiative via mainstream media, including newspapers and radio channels, and will continue to explore ways to raise awareness on the availability of budget meals in HDB estates.

We will continue with our plans to make budget meals available at even more locations. We are on track to onboard all HDB rental coffee shops to provide budget meals by 2026. Since December 2023, new buyers of privately-owned HDB coffee shops will need to offer budget meals once they have taken over the coffee shop. Eight coffee shops now provide budget meals in line with this requirement.

From May 2025 onwards, when privately-owned coffeeshops in HDB estates renew their application to use the Outdoor Refreshment Area (ORA), HDB will also require these coffee shops to offer budget meals as one of the conditions for renewal. This will enable more residents to have access to affordable cooked food.

While ensuring affordable cooked food options for Singaporeans, we do not wish to overburden our local food businesses, particularly stallholders running small or micro-businesses. To this end, we are studying two key moves. First, we are reviewing the Price-Quality Method (PQM) framework to increase the weightage of quality and take into account stall-level charges that prospective coffeeshop operators will impose on stallholders. Second, we are reviewing HDB’s rental renewal policy to deter overly high rental bids for HDB rental shops and coffeeshops, to ensure that stallholders can continue to operate sustainably. Details of these changes will be announced at a later date.

Next, let me share on how we are enhancing the inclusiveness of our neighbourhoods. Miss Cheryl Chan, Ms Jean See, Ms Joan Pereira, Ms Denise Phua and the Leader of the Opposition, all spoke on this from the perspective of different stakeholder groups.

Miss Cheryl Chan asked about spaces that allowed for intergenerational exchange, and for people with special needs.

We actively partner the community in the design and upgrading of our neighbourhood spaces to ensure that they are inclusive to people of all age groups and capabilities. For example, under the Silver Upgrading Progamme (SUP), agencies will engage residents through a community walk, to identify gaps and seek their suggestions for improvement.

This may include adding senior-friendly mobility enhancements like rest points and barrier-free access ramps along frequented routes, dementia-friendly features to improve wayfinding, as well as wheelchair-friendly therapeutic gardens and three-generational amenities to promote inter-generational interaction. In addition, we also work closely with community partners to ensure that seniors and the vulnerable are well supported if their flat has been chosen for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS). Ms Nadia Samdin asked about this.

For example, for SERS in Ang Mo Kio, every household is assigned a journey manager who proactively reaches out to provide relocation assistance especially to seniors. Seniors are guided throughout the entire SERS process from announcement to key collection and flat return. Where needed, journey managers work with other agencies such as People's Association (PA), Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and MSF.

Households who would like to continue living close to their neighbours in the designated replacement site can do so by applying for their replacement flats under the Joint Selection Scheme.

Sir, Ms Jean See asked about the Tripartite Workgroup’s progress in fostering safer and more efficient last-mile deliveries for delivery personnel as well as residents. Over the past year, our Tripartite Workgroup has engaged over 2,000 stakeholders, from delivery personnel to developers. For greater awareness, URA will rove the exhibition on innovative last-mile delivery practices to heartland malls in the next few months. As the Workgroup continues to study more ways to improve last-mile deliveries, we encourage more stakeholders and residents to co-create solutions suited for different locations.

Ms Joan Pereira raised on behalf of her residents the issue of disamenities in residential sky gardens. HDB will continue to work with the Member, Town Councils and NEA on various efforts to minimise disamenities to residents, while keeping communal spaces open and accessible for all. We urge everyone to be considerate in their use of communal spaces, including sky gardens.

Ms Denise Phua asked about support for condominium living. Resources on best practices in estate management and support for dispute resolution are available, such as Strata Management Guides issued by BCA, industry-led accreditation schemes for Managing Agents as well as the Strata Titles Boards (STB) which mediate and hear disputes related to strata-titled properties.

To the query by the Leader of the Opposition, the funds granted to each town by the Community Improvement Projects Committee (CIPC), depends on three factors. First, the number of HDB flats in the town. Larger towns with more residents will be allocated more resources. Second, the number and value of projects submitted. The CIPC will evaluate projects in the rank order submitted by the Town Councils (TCs) and Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs). Third, whether the submitted projects meet eligibility criteria. For example, projects that are not value for money, or cater only to specific interest groups or commercial entities will be rejected.

Broadly speaking, larger towns that submit more projects amounting to higher values get more funding. Most projects are approved. Where they are rejected, there are two reasons. [Please refer to the clarification later in the debate.]

One, they did not meet the eligibility criteria; or two, they were lower-ranked projects from towns which submitted a total project value far exceeding what would have been commensurate with the number of flats in their town. For such projects, TCs and CCCs can resubmit them in subsequent years with higher rank orders.

So far, we have completed three funding cycles for FY2021, FY2022 and FY2023. For FY2024, we have completed the first stage of in-principle approval. From experience, the final funding for FY2024 may be slightly lower if TCs and CCCs eventually decide, for their own reasons, not to proceed with some of the supported projects.

Based on the funding approved to date, between FY2021 and FY 2024, the top five towns are Ang Mo Kio, Pasir Ris-Punggol, Jurong-Clementi, West Coast and Sembawang, with funding ranging from $14.2 million to $21.1 million. These are larger towns ranging from 69,000 to 104,000 HDB flats.

The bottom five towns are Aljunied-Hougang, Marsiling-Yew Tee, East Coast, Holland-Bukit Panjang and Bishan-Toa Payoh with approved funding ranging from $11.0 million to $4.9 million. Most of these are smaller towns, ranging from 39,000 to 53,000 HDB flats. The exception is Aljunied-Hougang, which has 62,000 HDB flats – a mid-sized town with the lowest funding approved across towns.

I looked into why Aljunied-Hougang has been receiving less CIPC funding than other towns. The reason is that it has consistently submitted fewer projects than the rest. For example in FY2024, each town on average submitted 53 projects. On average, the CIPC approved about 39 projects at about $4 million per town. Aljunied/Hougang submitted the fewest projects: 18 projects for a total of $1.2 million, and CIPC gave in-principle approval to all 18 projects.

Sengkang submitted the most projects, 248 projects worth $30 million or about half of the more than $60 million funding approved across all towns. Given funding constraints, the CIPC could only support 47 of Sengkang's higher-ranked projects amounting to $4.5 million.

The CIPC is happy to clarify with any TC or CCC if they have queries on their rejected proposals. In fact, the CIPC has regularly provided explanations to TCs and CCCs that requested such information and will continue to do so.

Sir, while municipal issues like cleanliness and pest control may seem routine, they significantly impact residents’ daily lives. Let me now share on how Municipal Services Office (MSO) is working with stakeholders to pilot new approaches to these essential services.

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In February 2022, we started the Integrated Municipal Operations Pilot in Tampines Town. The pilot centralised the delivery of 10 common municipal services under a single operator, where they used to be done by multiple contractors under different Ministries. This includes services, such as cleaning and infrastructure maintenance.

Under the pilot, the active use of operations-technology (ops-tech) solutions, coupled with the cross-skilling of municipal workers, has enabled them to take on more related tasks with a leaner, more productive workforce, while also addressing issues more pre-emptively. We have reaped good results at our first pilot site and have expanded the integrated ops to Pasir Ris-Punggol, to see if we could achieve similar efficiencies over a larger area.

To address Mr Xie Yao Quan's question, the expanded pilot continued to yield good results. Resident satisfaction increased by 15 percentage points in the first six months of operation in Pasir Ris-Punggol, on the back of more than 30% speedier response and true case resolution, despite three times the area of operations.

Given the positive results, we are gathering learning points and studying how to refine and expand the model. We have begun proactively engaging industry partners to share our findings and understand what other capabilities can be tapped on. We will share more details when ready.

Sir, municipal issues are really about people and not just things like roads and buildings. The trickiest municipal issues tend to involve changing human behaviour.

Ms Joan Pereira has asked for stricter measures to deal with hoarding cases.

These have already been included in amendments to the Community Disputes Resolution Act last year. Where the hoarder has a suspected mental health condition, the pilot Community Relations Unit (CRU) will work with mental health professionals from relevant agencies and community partners to refer such cases for the appropriate mental health assessment and support. If the hoarder refuses assistance or assessment, affected residents can file a claim with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal (CDRT) and apply to CDRT for a Mandatory Treatment Order.

We know that the underlying motivations and support networks of hoarders and their families vary from case to case. There is no one-size-fits-all solution and enforcement is only one of the several measures. The New Environment Action Team (NEAT) will continue to develop and refine our strategies.

Chairman, in Mandarin, please.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] The Government will expand the Budget Meal programme to more locations to benefit more people. We are on track to onboard all HDB rental coffeeshops to provide budget meals by 2026. Starting from May this year, HDB will require privately-owned coffeeshops seeking to renew their application to use the outdoor refreshment area, to provide budget meals.

While ensuring Singaporeans have access to budget meals, we do not want to overburden our local F&B operators, especially stallholders running small businesses. Therefore, we are studying two new initiatives.

First, we are reviewing the Price Quality Method (PQM) framework to increase the weightage on quality and take into account stall level charges that prospective coffeeshop operators will impose on stallholders. Second, we are reviewing HDB's rental renewal policy to deter overly high rental bids for HDB rental shops and coffeeshops.

Further details will be announced when ready.

(In English): These initiatives reflect our commitment to partnering with stakeholders, like residents and business owners, in shaping enduring, vibrant communities and ensuring our neighbourhoods remain desirable places to call home. We invite Members of this House to join us in this endeavour and encourage active participation within your constituencies.

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Tan Kiat How): Sir, since Independence, the Government has been working hard to ensure Singaporeans enjoy a pleasant and green living environment. We have come far since our Garden City days and are now transforming Singapore into a City in Nature.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin has asked for progress updates.

We are continuing to expand our green spaces and bring them closer to every resident. First, we have achieved our 2021 target of developing 130 hectares of new parks by 2026. Second, to make green spaces even more accessible for Singaporeans, as of end 2024, we have established 391 kilometres of park connectors. This is equivalent to crossing Singapore's length from East to West almost eight times. We are making good progress towards achieving our target of 500 kilometres of park connectors by 2030.

National Parks Board (NParks) will continue expanding its network of parks and park connectors. With eight parks and 13 kilometres of park connectors added to our pipeline of green spaces, we target to develop more than 25 new parks and over 50 kilometres of park connectors, which Singaporeans can look forward to over the next five years.

We are also progressively carrying out concept studies on over 100 hectares of potential park development area in the coming years, with a view to bring more green spaces closer to all Singaporeans. These complement our plans to enhance 13 Southwestern parks, including transforming three of the parks into Destination Parks and the rejuvenation and greening of Orchard Road. We are also expanding our blue spaces. Last year, we announced plans to designate a second marine park at Lazarus South and Kusu Reef.

To answer Ms Nadia's query, we are working with the nature community, experts and other agencies on detailed site studies, to inform the designation of the second marine park. We will share more details when ready.

Ms Nadia and Miss Cheryl Chan asked about accessibility and inclusivity of our green and common spaces, and how we can cater spaces for active living.

We have made a concerted effort to make our green spaces more accessible and inclusive. Our network of green spaces with therapeutic gardens, landscapes and pro-health features enriches our interactions with nature.

Mdm Auo Siew Kheng and Mdm Tan Sew Leng are residents who visit the therapeutic garden at HortPark. They are both wheelchair dependent in their golden years and Mdm Auo is also living with dementia. At the therapeutic garden, they enjoy hands-on gardening activities amidst nature and explore sensory plants, like pandan, which evokes memories of local culinary delights.

We now have 17 therapeutic gardens within our parks island-wide, which is more than halfway to our target of having 30 by 2030. So, as we expand our network of parks in the coming years, we will incorporate more therapeutic landscapes and pro-health features where feasible, such as the upcoming Teachers' Estate Park and the park at Spottiswoode.

We are also ensuring our parks and gardens are accessible for a diverse range of users, including seniors, children with special needs and wheelchair users, so as to facilitate interactions with nature and encourage active living. For example, in East Coast Park, the KPMG Wellness Garden incorporates barrier-free paths and features a wheelchair-friendly trampoline and accessible lookout platforms. For our Nature Parks, Rifle Range Nature Park also features a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk.

Last year, we reopened Sisters' Islands Marine Park, which offers barrier-free amenities, including a floating boardwalk, which doubles as a coral habitat and research site. Residents can also look forward to a wheelchair-accessible jetty at Pulau Ubin, which will commence work this year.

Mr Ang Wei Neng, Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap and Mr Dennis Tan asked about the lift provision in our HDB estates and improving accessibility for residents facing mobility challenges. I fully appreciate the points raised by Members and can empathise with the difficulties that mobility challenged residents face.

Today, around 99% of all HDB blocks were either built with direct lift access or has benefitted from the Lift Upgrading Programme, or LUP. Since January 2023, we have offered LUP to 28 HDB blocks that do not have direct lift access. HDB is constantly studying how to make our blocks more accessible and inclusive. It keeps abreast of technological development and trials potential solutions to determine their feasibility and cost-effectiveness.

Over the years, HDB has explored mechanical solutions, such as chairlifts and stair climbers. However, these were not implemented due to safety concerns. HDB will continue to explore new ways to bring direct lift access to the remaining blocks, such as working with research institutes to better leverage technology.

As HDB does so, it has put in place measures to support households that face mobility challenges. For example, these households can tap on the Lift access Housing Grant (LHG), which can support successful applicants with up to $30,000 to buy new and resale HDB flats that have direct lift access. This grant is intended to assist households that require direct lift access due to mobility challenges in securing homes that are more accessible and convenient for them.

I encourage households with pressing accessibility needs to approach HDB for assistance. Members can also direct these households that require such assistance to our HDB colleagues. HDB will seek to understand the circumstances of the household and provide the necessary support.

In response to Mr Faisal Manap's query on LUP for the three blocks, the current lift configurations were decided in consultation with residents and their representatives. They meet the objective of achieving direct lift access for every resident and were also successfully polled by the residents of the block.

Ms Nadia Samdin, Ms Ng Ling Ling and Mr Henry Kwek asked about how we can empower more people to be involved in our City in Nature journey.

We work closely with the community, industry partners and stakeholders to realise our City in Nature vision and we are very grateful for their support. For example, since the Nature Kakis Network was launched in 2023, we have established 23 Chapters islandwide with over 250 Nature Kaki stewards. NParks also works with community members on the OneMillionTrees Movement, which has planted more than 760,000 trees, including forest and mangrove trees, since 2020. We encourage interested residents to step forward and work alongside us in stewarding our City in Nature.

When we embark on new park projects, we also involve residents in designing features that will cater to their needs and will continue to do so. Interested residents can also be involved in safeguarding biodiversity, such as through the 100k Corals Initiative, which Ms Nadia has also asked about.

Launched last December, it aims to scale up our coral restoration efforts over the next 10 years and beyond, with focus on the recovery of rarer species, like the Staghorn coral. We have begun working with experts to develop a coral reef restoration plan, which will guide future restoration efforts and plan to involve the wider community in our efforts. We will share more details when ready.

We are also very encouraged to see residents initiating green efforts to enliven shared spaces, as Ms Carrie Tan has mentioned. Through the Lively Places Fund (LPF), we have supported ground-up efforts, including allotment or community gardens. To make it easier for communities to set up gardens in their estates, we have simplified the LPF application process.

Going forward, communities will be able to submit proposals for gardening initiatives, including on top of underutilised HDB multi-storey carparks via a centralised application portal. Applications will open every six months and more details will be shared by HDB.

Besides gardening, LPF supports community-driven projects that transform public spaces into active, vibrant spaces that bring communities together and we welcome such applications via the same portal.

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The community also plays a key role in safeguarding animal health and welfare. In light of the cases of animal cruelty and neglect we have encountered in the past year, we have been hearing greater calls to review our penalties.

Mr Henry Kwek asked for an update on our ongoing review of the Animals and Birds Act (ABA). The ABA provides us with the powers to detect, prevent and control the spread of animal diseases and to safeguard animal welfare in Singapore. We are reviewing the regulatory framework for the prevention and control of animal diseases and veterinary health products. This includes measures to stem animal smuggling and ensure the quality of veterinary health products (VHPs).

We are also reviewing enforcement powers and regulatory levers for animal welfare and management. For example, we are reviewing the licensing regime for regulated pet sector activities and penalties for animal cruelty offences, including the disqualification order.

NParks has been conducting small-group discussions with the relevant stakeholders and incorporating their inputs. We intend to share more details later this year and will conduct consultations with a broader set of stakeholders to get feedback.

Last year, we launched the Cat Management Framework to enhance the welfare and traceability of cats, which includes the licensing of pet cats.

Mr Louis Ng asked about the sterilisation for pet cats. Last month, I gave a more comprehensive update on the progress of the Framework. We are encouraged to see that 97% of pet cats licensed to HDB flats to date have already been sterilised. We have just started implementing the cat management framework, which requires extensive effort on the ground. For now, we will monitor the situation and work closely with our partners to raise awareness on the benefits of sterilisation.

Ms Nadia Samdin, Mr Chong Kee Hiong, Mr Xie Yao Quan and Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked about our wildlife management approach, including our pest bird management efforts. To ensure public health and safety, we will continue to work closely with relevant agencies and stakeholders on our science and community-based approach to manage wildlife populations and strengthen awareness on managing human-wildlife encounters. We have stepped up efforts to manage our pest bird populations.

In an effort to stem the growth of the crow population and reduce the risk to public safety, NParks has since last year progressively taken on the function of removing crow nests in trees within areas managed by Town Councils. To address the bird feeding situation, we partnered Town Councils and agencies last year to deploy more CCTV cameras and enforcement personnel at identified feeding hotspots. Last year, we took action against 258 incidents for feeding pigeons illegally.

For feeders with mental health needs, NParks works with agencies to understand their motivations, address misconceptions and discourage them from feeding. We will continue to collaborate with Active Ageing Centres to raise awareness among the elderly on the negative impacts of bird feeding. To complement these efforts, we have also ramped up education and outreach on bird feeding and food waste management at food and bin centres, in collaboration with NEA and SFA. Everyone plays a part in keeping our estates clean.

We also launched a pigeon management pilot last year, which included a customised plan for participating Town Councils and guidelines for direct population control. The preliminary results are encouraging. The number of pigeon-related feedback across the three Town Councils under the pilot – Bishan-Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar – has decreased between July to December 2024. We are evaluating the pilot's outcomes further and plan to expand the initiative to other Town Councils.

Chairman, please allow me say a few words in Mandarin.

(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] We have been working hard to make our green spaces more inclusive. We now have 17 therapeutic gardens in parks across the island, more than halfway towards our target of 30 gardens by 2030. These gardens are thoughtfully designed to cater to a diverse range of users, including seniors, children with special needs and wheelchair users, to facilitate interactions with nature, improve well-being and encourage active living.

Singaporeans can look forward to more green spaces that incorporate therapeutic landscapes and pro-health features, such as the upcoming gardens in Teachers' Estate Park and park at Spottiswoode.

(In English): Sir, please let me conclude. As Singapore continues to develop, we will ensure that all Singaporeans feel fulfilled, included and empowered in their communities and homes. We are heartened to see community stewardship for our estates, animals and nature, and we will keep working closely with our residents as we push forward with our efforts.

Together, we can nurture a Singapore that is vibrant and inclusive for many generations to come.

The Chairman: Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.

The Minister of State for National Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Sir, I thank the Members for their questions and suggestions. Over the years, the Government has uplifted families in need through targeted and progressive shifts in our public housing policy. But our work does not stop here. Today, I will share more about how we will strengthen our support for the vulnerable to achieve two objectives: stability and empowerment.

Let me start with stability. The Public Rental Scheme has been a social safety net for our lower-income and vulnerable households, providing them a stable home as they navigate other life challenges.

I would like to assure Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin and Mr Xie Yao Quan that we are continuously improving the Public Rental Scheme for our tenants.

First, to provide timely support. During COVID-19, applications for rental flats surged and waiting times increased to up to 11 months. Since then, HDB has streamlined the flat selection process and reduced waiting times to an average of five months. We are working to reduce waiting times further. As part of our efforts, we will build another close to 5,000 public rental flats by 2030.

Second, to create a conducive living environment for our tenants to regain stability. Some may remember our older rental blocks, with long narrow corridors and units on both sides, and often clustered together. We no longer build rental housing that way. Today, rental blocks are interspersed with sold blocks and built with similar designs as sold blocks.

Going a step further, we have been building rental flats in the same blocks as sold flats, to encourage social mixing. HDB has completed six such blocks and will complete another 28 in the next five years. To better meet the needs of our tenants, we have also been adjusting rental flat designs, such as building new rental flats with high partitions to provide more privacy for tenants under the Joint Singles Scheme.

Last year, we piloted the Single Room Shared Facilities model to provide single tenants with their own room, while sharing common facilities like toilets and kitchens. Tenants have moved in from August last year and many were pleased to have their own room. We will continue to learn from this pilot and improve the experience for our single tenants.

Next, let me touch on empowerment. We are committed to supporting all public rental households on their home ownership journey, starting with families with children or ComLink+ families. Many of these families face complex and overlapping challenges, such as balancing employment and childcare responsibilities.

Take Mdm Christabel Tan, for example, one of our public rental tenants. After her husband's passing, she became the sole breadwinner of the family, raising three young children on her own. She took on a part-time job, so she could still take care of her children when she was not working.

Mdm Tan has never been a home owner and she hopes to buy her own 3-room flat one day. However, with her limited bandwidth and unstable income, home ownership seemed out of reach and she applied for a rental flat instead. We have taken steps to better support families like Mdm Tan. Since late last year, HDB provides proactive home ownership guidance to ComLink+ families upon their entry to public rental.

When Mdm Tan recently collected the keys to her rental flat, an HDB officer spoke with her to understand her home ownership aspirations, work out her housing budget with her based on the housing grants and loan she is eligible for and provide tailored advice on her housing options.

She was very thankful for the personalised guidance from HDB. It gave her clarity that a stable income with CPF contribution is crucial for her to build up her savings and close the $30,000 shortfall to buy a 3-room flat. Mdm Tan has since started a full-time job as a sales executive and is working hard to buy a flat of her own. To her, home ownership is no longer a distant dream, but an attainable goal.

We will also do more to support families like Mdm Tan who need help to bridge the last mile towards home ownership. Today, the Fresh Start Housing Scheme (Fresh Start) provides holistic support for second-timer public rental families with children to be proud home owners again.

I would like to inform Ms Mariam Jaafar that 85 families have moved into their flats through support from Fresh Start. Another 28 families have booked their flat and are waiting for their keys.

We will do more to support more families to realise their home ownership aspirations. As the Prime Minister had announced in his Budget Statement, we will be enhancing Fresh Start to support more ComLink+ families in public rental on their home ownership journey.

First, we will extend Fresh Start to first-timer ComLink+ families in public rental, to allow them to buy a 2- or 3-room Standard flat on a shorter lease. This will benefit first-timer families, like Mdm Tan, who find it challenging to buy a 99-year lease flat. With this change, she will be able to afford a shorter-lease 3-room Standard flat and achieve her goal of owning a flat sooner.

Like all other first-timers, they will continue to benefit from the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to $120,000, in lieu of the Fresh Start Housing Grant. First-timer families who are eligible can apply for Fresh Start from April this year. Those emplaced on the scheme can book a flat under Fresh Start from the first sales exercise in 2026.

Next, we will increase the Fresh Start Housing Grant for second-timer ComLink+ families in public rental from $50,000 to $75,000. With this enhancement, eligible families will receive an upfront disbursement of $60,000 into their CPF Ordinary Account before key collection, to help defray immediate costs of buying a home. The remaining $15,000 will be disbursed in equal tranches over five years after key collection to help families manage their mortgage payments. Eligible families can look forward to tapping on the increased grant from the July 2025 sales exercise.

I recently visited one of our Fresh Start families, Mdm Nureezan and her two young daughters, Azura and Adiera, at their new flat in Marsiling. When Mdm Nureezan was living in a rental flat, people told her that she would never be able to own a home of her own as a divorced, single parent. But she refused to give up. Knowing the importance for her children to have a better living environment, she was determined to buy her own flat.

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Fresh Start made home ownership possible for Mdm Nureezan. With the Fresh Start Housing Grant, she was able to buy a new 2-room Sales of Balance flat with a 55-year lease, that is fortunately near her workplace and children’s school. She also benefitted from priority allocation under the Tenants’ Priority Scheme. Her family moved into their new flat within a year, with minimal renovations needed.

I am very happy for Mdm Nureezan. Her journey was not easy, but she persevered and worked hard for her daughters. She told me that her daughters were overjoyed with tears on the day of moving into their new flat and said this to her “Mama, you made our dream come true.”

Truly, home ownership is a dream for many. Mdm Nureezan’s story has shown that this dream can come true, as long as families stay committed to this path. Like Mdm Nureezan, more than 700 public rental households moved into their new flat last year. We are encouraged by this, and will continue working with our social agencies and community partners to enable more to do the same.

Home ownership is a journey, not a destination. It comes with many responsibilities and requires careful financial planning. As our tenants take this important step, we will continue to guide and support them every step of the way.

Chairman, allow me to now speak in Malay.

(In Malay): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Home ownership represents a significant milestone for many people. We are committed to supporting all public rental households to own their homes, starting with families with children, or ComLink+ families.

Since late last year, HDB has been providing proactive home ownership guidance to ComLink+ families upon their entry to public rental. When families collect the keys to their rental flat, HDB officers will guide them on their home ownership journey – the HDB officers will engage them to understand the families’ aspirations, assess their financial situation, and provide tailored advice on their housing options

We will also do more to support families who may need help to bridge the last mile towards home ownership.

Today, the Fresh Start Housing Scheme provides holistic support to help second-timer public rental families with children to be home owners again. To date, 85 families have moved into their flats through support from the Fresh Start Housing Scheme. Another 28 families have booked their flat and are waiting for their keys.

As announced by the Prime Minister in his Budget Statement, we will be enhancing the Fresh Start Housing Scheme to support more ComLink+ families in public rental on their home ownership journey.

First, we will extend this scheme to first-timer ComLink+ families in public rental, to allow them to buy a 2 or 3-room Standard flat on a shorter lease, which is more affordable compared to a 99-year lease flat. Like all other first-timers, they will continue to benefit from the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $120,000, in lieu of the Fresh Start Housing Grant.

First-timer families who are eligible can apply for the Fresh Start Housing Scheme from April this year. Those emplaced on the scheme can book a flat under Fresh Start from the first sales exercise in 2026.

Next, we will increase the Fresh Start Housing Grant for second-timer ComLink+ families in public rental schemes from $50,000 to $75,000. Eligible families can look forward to tapping on the increased grant from the July 2025 sales exercise.

(In English): Sir, let me conclude by re-affirming our commitment to uplifting those in need, providing them with stability and empowering them to lead lives of dignity and opportunity. To make a lasting impact, we need the support from every member of the society, including all of us here in this House. Together, we can build a stronger, more inclusive community, so that Singapore remains a home that all Singaporeans are proud of.

The Chairman: Before I go to clarifications, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, you have a clarification to make?

Ms Sim Ann: Mr Chairman, please allow me to make a clarification. There was a missing word from my speech earlier, in the section where I dealt with CIPC applications. I should have said: "Most projects are approved. Where they are rejected, there are generally two reasons". And the reasons are as what I have stated in the speech.

The Chairman: We have to finish at the guillotine time of 1.50 pm I see a number of hands, so my first request to all is to keep your clarifications short. And likewise for the responses from the front bench, to also keep it short. Miss Cheryl Chan.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (East Coast): Thank you, Chairperson. I have a clarification for Minister Desmond Lee. Beyond the Home Improvement Programme, does the Government have other plans around rejuvenation for Singapore on a broader level?

Mr Desmond Lee: Just confirm, the Member is asking about HDB or generally? Generally, okay.

Mr Chairman, I had spoken earlier in my speech about HIP, which is about making improvements within the home, resolving common maintenance issues in the home, and I have also spoken about EASE to make our homes in our HDB estate safer for seniors. That is within the home.

Around the home there is the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and this seeks to improve the livability of the estate, the precinct as well as the neighbourhood. But at the higher level we also have the Revitalisation of Heartlands (ROH) programme and this is a programme that roves around different towns and seeks to rejuvenate the town as a whole. It probably may be better characterised as a very significant NRP. NRP is about specific neighbourhoods but revitalising our heartlands, the ROH, allows us to look at the entire estate, the town centre, the neighbourhoods, the precincts, and to make improvements across large parts of the town.

So, those are with regard to improving the livability and the quality of life in public housing estates.

Mr Chairman, I had also spoken about how we are making efforts to also improve our private housing estates, particularly for our seniors. We see as we go around the private housing estates, whether it is a group of condominiums or landed estates, there are seniors living there, and sometimes they face challenges too in getting about daily life. And so, the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP) has been around for some time, the different tranches to enable us to work with communities to improve the liveability of those private estates – for example, covering drains, improving walkways, improving pocket greens and parks for inter-generational bonding, for instance.

But we also had a mirror to what in HDB we call the Silver Upgrading Programme. And the Member might have heard about the Silver Upgrading Programme, which is a kind of NRP, but it covers estates which had already gone through upgrading before, through the MUP, for instance; but with many seniors, we come back again and look specifically at what needs to be done to improve the public housing estates for seniors.

So, the mirror on the private housing estate side is EUP Silver. EUP is across the board, but EUP Silver allows us to zoom in specifically on the needs of the elderly living in the private estates as well.

So, these are, in sum, a range of programmes that allow us to improve the livability of our estates. And you heard just now Senior Minister of State Sim Ann talk about the Community Improvement Programme Committee (CIPC) that allows us to make year-on-year, smaller scale improvements to improve the quality of life as well.

The Chairman: Mr Pritam Singh.

Mr Pritam Singh (Aljunied): Thank you, Chair. And thank you to the MND office holders for responding to the cuts. Just a few clarifications from me. First on Minister Lee's speech, the Minister spoke about a number of new initiatives, new scanning technology for flats which have a persistent facade-related leakages. Minister identified 70 flats. Just some clarity on that pilot, whether it covers a specific cluster or Town Council, or is it more general to some of the more problematic flats, and whether other Town Councils can request for the extension of this technology to persistent facade-related problems for flats in their Town Councils.

I thank the Minister for responding to the cut on retirement adequacy. The Minister referred to the Silver Housing slew of policies that MND has and how those are going to be improved. I would just seek clarification on the Community Care Apartments. There was an announcement, I believe sometime in late 2023, about the total number of Community Care Apartments that were being earmarked for construction until the end of the decade. Is there a change to that number? I think the number was 30. Is there is any change to that?

My final clarification for the Minister pertains to a point I made in my Budget debate speech with regard to the number of ultimate dwelling units that were reflected in the HDB Annual Report in the year 2019-2020 and how that number increased in the latest HDB Annual Report. What was the basis of that increase? If the Minister does not have the reply, I can always file a Parliamentary Question for that clarification. He can just let me know whether I need to do that.

Finally, to Senior Minister of State Sim Ann, thank you for that extensive reply on CIPC. I think it is well appreciated. With Aljunied Hougang Town Council having received little to no CIPC funding from 2011 to 2021, one can understand why this source of funding is important for Town Councils. I appreciate the funding that has been extended after 2021 and I note Senior Minister of State's reply in terms of how MND will look at some of the projects that have been put up. For Aljunied Hougang Town Council, we will put up projects subsequently with a focus on recreational upgrades and upgrades for seniors in our town, because it is a more mature town. So, just to record my appreciation for that reply.

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his questions. First is on scanning technology. This is a pilot. We have enterprises that are experimenting with ways to better scan the walls and ceilings. Because visual inspection can go so far, but if you are able to look beneath the surface, you might be able to better pinpoint the source of leaks. I am sure the Member would be familiar with it, when you have external wall seepage, you think the water is leaking from this place, but actually there could be micro cracks in other parts of the external surface that caused this water to accumulate and then enter the home.

And so, this scanning technology is a pilot and we are going to start with 70 flats. They are all over. We are going to select the flats that will allow us to test out the efficacy of this technology. And having pinpointed it, we hope that the repair method will so called nip the problem in the bud at the source, and hopefully the solution becomes a lot more durable, because then you try to target where the problem is. And so, no specific towns per se, but HDB will identify 70 flats for a start to see whether this technology, coupled with the follow-up repair, achieves results. And if it is successful, then we will try to expand it.

As I said earlier, Mr Chairman, we will look to strengthen capabilities across our Town Councils, as well as our BE sector, our contractors and all who will need to be able to know how to use this technology and to be able to make more durable repairs.

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The second question is on Community Care Apartments, no change to the earlier target to build 30 Community Care Apartments by 2030.

The third question, I must apologise to the Leader of Opposition. I might have missed that in the Budget. Maybe I will just invite him to file a Written Question and I will then have a look at the issue.

The Chairman: Mr Chong Kee Hiong.

Mr Chong Kee Hiong (Bishan-Toa Payoh): Chairman, I have two clarifications. The first one for Senior Minister of State Sim Ann. How will MND ensure that the expansion of the Budget Meal Initiative is sustainable for operators and individual stall owners? My second clarification is for Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How, in his speech, he mentioned that MND has exceeded their target of developing 130 hectares of new parks by 2026, and have made good progress in restoring habitats and establishing park connectors. Does NParks intend to review the next bound of these targets?

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Sim Ann.

Ms Sim Ann: In response to Mr Chong Kee Hiong's question about budget meals, our officers at HDB continue to stay in touch with the operators in our HDB rental coffee shops. We take in feedback from the operators with regards to the implementation of the budget meals. This is one way in which we check that the scheme is sustainable.

And as I have also shared in the speech, we are going beyond that to review the PQM framework, as well as considering measures to deter overly high bids, because we are mindful about the possible impact on stall holders who may feel squeezed by providing budget meals on the one hand, but they may possibly also face the requirement for high stall rents. I think in putting in place these measures, we can assure stall holders that we do have the sustainability of their livelihoods at heart.

The Chairman: Ms Joan Pereira.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): Thank you, Chairman. I have two clarifications for Minister. The first is on the —

The Chairman: My apologies, I think that Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How wanted to respond to the earlier clarification? Ms Joan Pereira, I will call you on again.

Mr Tan Kiat How: Sir, I just wanted to reply to Mr Chong Kee Hiong's second query about the targets. We announced our vision to transform Singapore from a City in a Garden to a City in Nature at COS 2020. That seems quite a long time ago. We were still in the midst of COVID-19 half a decade ago. We shared our aspiration for Singaporeans to co-exist with flora and fauna, and talked about the importance of enhancing greenery across our island in the face of climate change, more extreme weather conditions and also increased urbanisation.

This was one of the pillars under the Singapore Green Plan 2030. We have put in place a set of longer-term targets, mostly pegged to 2030, to ensure that we keep on track to make our aspirations a reality. And we are very heartened to see that we are making steady and strong progress in meeting many of these targets, even at the halfway point.

And many of these targets span the four key areas of our City in Nature vision, namely: first, conserving and extending our natural capital; second, intensifying nature in our parks and gardens; third, to restore nature in our urban landscape; and fourth, strengthening connectivity between our green spaces.

So, we have made good progress over the last few years, notwithstanding many of challenges of COVID-19. We are now, as Mr Chong pointed out, at the midway mark. Looking at the City in Nature targets, it is a timely opportunity for us to review them and we will do so. We will take stock of our progress and more importantly, identify the areas where we can strengthen our efforts, where needed, to make greater strides to meeting our targets. We are doing so not just under our City in Nature targets, but also in context of the broader Green Plan 2030 that involves many agencies and other Ministries.

So, we are looking at our targets. We will consider the next bound of our targets beyond 2030 and we will chart our approach beyond that.

I just want to make a final point to say that, ultimately, these are targets, but it is really the spirit of it. It is our commitment to shaping a City in Nature and we must take ambitious steps to weave nature more closely as part of our urban environment, especially as a small and densely populated city-state, with very tight land use constraints.

This is a major endeavour that the Government cannot undertake alone. We will need the support of the community and as mentioned earlier in my COS speech, I encourage many more Singaporeans, like-minded Singaporeans, enterprises, corporates, community partners, to work together with us on this important effort.

The Chairman: We still have many clarifications, but we only have 15 minutes left. Ms Joan Pereira, you have the floor.

Ms Joan Pereira: Thanks again, Chairman. I have got two clarifications for Minister Lee. On the scanning technology that the Leader of Opposition also asked about, that would be piloted in 70 units, can I make a request to have my Henderson Crescent flats be part of the pilot, if it is not already in the list?

The second clarification, our seniors' needs are becoming more diverse. The Minister has briefly touched on how the Government intends to support our seniors' housing and retirement needs beyond these measures that were shared. Can the Minister elaborate on other efforts by the Government to meet our seniors' evolving housing needs?

Mr Desmond Lee: To reply to the first question, let HDB identify the flats which would best allow them to test out the technology. We have been doing a lot of the work in Building Research Institute (BRI), which is HDB's research institute. We want to be able to try this out in more realistic settings. But we certainly will bear the Member's offer in mind and look forward to her support if there are any units in her area.

The other question is about how we can better support seniors' housing and retirement needs, am I right? I have earlier spoken about various upgrading programmes, to make our homes and our neighbourhoods safer and more senior-friendly, so that is one. In terms of housing options, when it comes to HDB housing, seniors have a whole range of monetisation options, as I mentioned earlier in my speech. They can also do Lease Buyback. So, they age in place, make the home safer through EASE and do a Lease Buyback to allow them to gain an additional income stream for retirement.

They, of course, can right-size, by buying a smaller BTO flat or a 2-room Flexi flat on a shorter lease, and in doing so, get extra support through the enhanced Silver Housing Bonus, which will be enhanced from 1 December of this year.

There are also, of course, Community Care Apartments that our seniors can look to move to. This is a concept where housing and social and care come together in the estate to allow our seniors to age within the community more effectively. So, these are the things that we have been doing to better support our seniors with a wider range of housing options, through a suite of monetisation options and to better support our seniors, for example, through SHB as they seek to right-size.

The Chairman: I am giving priority to those who filed more cuts. Mr Henry Kwek.

Mr Kwek Hian Chuan Henry (Kebun Baru): Chairman, I would like to ask MND two clarifications for the BE sector. First of all, some consultants are concerned about being held responsible for what you call excessive contractual liabilities arising from projects and project disputes. Can he share how the proposed review of public sector procurement practices could help alleviate that?

Second is more on the BETC grants, which will go very far to help the sector. Can MND share more about how, specifically, it will help the BE sector, which is essential for MND's construction plans for the future?

Ms Indranee Rajah: Mr Chairman, before I respond to those clarifications, I just need to make one small correction with regard to my speech, where I had earlier said that the date of when Mr Muhammad Khalil had started his career as a draughtsman in 2025. The correct date should actually be 2005.

Coming to the clarifications as sought by Mr Henry Kwek. On the first one about the consultants being responsible for contractual liabilities, the task force acknowledges the industry's concerns about the balance of risk between service buyers and the BE consultants, and how being held responsible for excessive liabilities may impact the consultant's business sustainability. And consequently, the attractiveness of the BE careers.

So, what we are doing in the task force, and what the review will do, is look at ways to better scope consultants' liabilities to be fairer. One area being studied is the use of limitation of liability clauses, which will enable consultants to procure professional indemnity insurance (PII) coverage to manage liabilities that may arise. For service buyers, having their consultants sufficiently insured by PII would give assurance on the consultant's ability to compensate them should there be a need to do so. And at the sectoral level, having sufficient PII coverage will also allow for more efficient risk sharing, thereby strengthening the sustainability of our BE professions.

With respect to the other question on the details of the BETC grant, the BETC grant supports initiatives in three key areas: first, enterprise; second, technology; and third, manpower.

So, it supports enhancement of enterprise capabilities, such as in adopting lean construction practices and collaborative contracting. Second, it will support adoption of advanced technologies, including robotics and automation. Third, it supports the building of firms' manpower capabilities, such as in innovative sourcing methods, job redesign and specialised training.

These examples are not exhaustive. We are open to considering other relevant initiatives that align with the ITM and which would contribute to the sector's overall transformation.

The Chairman: Mr Xie Yao Quan.

Mr Xie Yao Quan (Jurong): Thank you, Chairman. Two questions. First, on my suggestion for a separate buyer stamp duty regime for the HDB market to give the Government greater policy optionality to cool the resale market quickly when needed, I would just like to ask the Minister if the Ministry would be minded to consider that suggestion, and if not, why not?

The second question is to Senior Minister of State Tan, and it is about pest birds. I just want to stress again that this can be a huge pain point for us locally, especially when the bird population flares up and we need quick fixes to bring down the bird population. So, really, are there further strategies and measures that the authorities are considering to help the Town Councils to manage this problem? And could he also share further details about the pilot Pigeon Management Framework that he mentioned in his reply?

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for his suggestion made during his cut about having a buyer stamp duty as a mechanism to cool the HDB resale market. Principally, firstly, we have to make sure that the property market, whether it is on the HDB side or the private housing side, is in line with economic fundamentals. We need to understand the causes of market movements and then target measures. And the measures are broadly supply side. That means you inject supply to meet demand. You inject supply in order to assure people that there is available units coming on stream. And then, there are demand side measures, for example, tightening on loans, limiting eligibility, which can sometimes be painful as we have seen, and these are demand side measures, and you need to allow them to work through the market.

On the Member's specific suggestion, we do not discuss cooling measures because of the sensitive nature of market cooling measures. But we certainly will consider all suggestions that both he and other Members may have given.

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Mr Tan Kiat How: Sir, I thank the Member for raising this issue. Indeed, for many town councils across the board, managing pest birds is something that they are working on and we see the number of feedback and complaints coming up, rising over the years.

The Member mentioned pest birds but maybe allow me to just speak about two specific species because there are slightly different techniques and approach that we use for pigeons as well as crows. Basically, there are roughly, broadly, about four pest bird species in Singapore. We have feral pigeons, common and white-minted mynahs and house crows. So, most of the feedback is really around pigeons and crows. This is something that the HDB has been working very closely with Town Councils to manage some of these disamenities and to manage the population issues on the ground. Let me touch on two particular areas that the HDB has been working closely with Town Councils on. [Please refer to "Clarification by Senior Minister of State for National Development", Official Report, 5 March 2025, Vol 95, Issue 158, Correction By Written Statement section.]

The Chairman: Senior Minister of State Tan, I hope you can make it short. I am trying to squeeze one more clarification.

Mr Tan Kiat How: Okay. Firstly, it is on pigeons. The Member asked about the pilot that we are working on with three Town Councils (TCs). I mentioned earlier Bishan-Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and Tanjong Pagar. The results are encouraging but one of the most important set of takeaways from the pilot it really requires – it is not just the Town Council or HDB – but requires everyone to play our part. It is not just about reducing the population sizes of the pigeons in the estate, but it is really to minimise the food sources which is one important driver for the pigeon population.

So, the Member asked what they can do or how can they work more closely with different agencies. The first will be making sure that food sources can be minimised. For example, SFA is working with hawker centre operators to retrofit tray return tracks, having protective netting at food establishments where the bird nuisances were reported to minimise the food source availability for such birds. For example, also, working together with NEA to monitor waste disposal activities near bulk bins and for the Town Councils to also take enforcement action against improper refuse disposal.

So, there are things that we can do; practical, sensible steps that we can do. We are evaluating the results of the pilot and we will see how we can extend it to more Town Councils.

On the second species of pest bird issues is really around crows, and that is where NParks has leaned in, leaned forward to work closely with Town Councils to minimise the crow issues on the ground. So, there are things that we can do, sensible things we can do.

For example, as part of the TC-managed tree regime, how can we work together with NParks to expedite the removal of crow nest and to stem the growth of the crow populations and NParks will deploy trained contractors and operators for such operations.

There are a number of things we can do as well in terms of habitant modification. The Town Councils can work together with NParks to step up pruning of the trees in hotspot to discourage roosting and we can also improve trapping efficacy; for example, through the use of new designs and trapping methods such as mist nets.

And thirdly, again, similar to the pigeon issue is about food reduction so I look forward to Town Councils working together of NParks to minimise the availability of food sources and to work together with agencies, like NEA and SFA, to improve food and refuse disposal.

The Chairman: I was going to give Mr Lim Biow Chuan or Mr Louis Ng the last clarification because they all filed three cuts but we have run out of time. I am sorry. So, can I invite Miss Cheryl Chan to, if you like, to withdraw your amendment?

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: Thank you, Chairman. As with every COS at MND, we always run out of time to ask all the clarifications. But I think people can appreciate the amount of effort and the wide span of topics that MND covers. I thought there is always worth mentioning and sometimes credit has to be given where it is due. For example, it is really not an easy task to be able to recover in terms of the public housing supply during the pandemic till now, because my Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) Members and I have been fully involved during that time and we know how difficult it was for the contractors and also, for the agency to be able to get the supply back on track. So, I have to say kudos to the Ministry, thank you to Minister Desmond Lee and all the office holders, especially the MND family, I think everyone has contributed to this. Chairman, I beg leave to withdraw my cut.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

The sum of $8,344,980,000 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Main Estimates.

The sum of $11,140,637,200 for Head T ordered to stand part of the Development Estimates.