Govt to provide more funds for HDB upgrading

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The government will allocate more funds to the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), which upgrades HDB flats built before 1987 with repairs such as fixing spalling concrete and upgrading the toilets.

According to Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for National Development, the government is accelerating the implementation of the programme, which will cover 160,000 additional units in the next five years.

In total, the authorities plan to cover 300,000 flats, representing one-third of all HDB flats in Singapore.

Around 50,000 flats have been selected for the HIP since its launch in 2007 and work has been completed on about 5,800 units. Mr. Lee revealed that “fair prioritising will be done across the island”, with regards to which estates will be upgraded first.

On the issue of capacity, he said, “As we ramp up BTO flat construction, whether we have enough contractors that are able to carry out the work is another bottleneck. We will implement as fast as we can, as fast as the industry can absorb and address as many households as possible.”

Roughly 8,300 cases of spalling concrete at HDB flats are reported yearly, with older flats having an incidence rate higher by two percent. On this matter, Mr. Lee said that affected HDB flat owners can take advantage of the Goodwill Repair Assistance scheme, where HDB will share the repair cost.

Mr. Lee added that it is important for HDB owners to repair cracks or repaint as it will hinder the spalling process.

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