Most HDB blocks qualify for lift upgrading

Out of 5,300 HDB blocks constructed before 1990, only 200 blocks will not be installed with lifts that stop at each floor. As the installation of lifts in these blocks costs over $30,000 per unit, these 200 blocks do not qualify for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP).

This is despite the cost-effective and innovative solutions implemented by the HDB to reduce costs.

In response to Mr. Christopher De Souza’s (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) queries about the number of unqualified blocks for lift upgrading due to cost concerns, Grace Fu, State for National Development’s Senior Minister, explained that the solutions include lift landings in the reconfigured lift access for blocks, which will be constructed between floors, smaller lifts designed for low-rise blocks and shaftless lift installations. With all these expensive services being offered, almost 1,000 HDB blocks failed to qualify for the programme ever since it was introduced in 2001.