Top tip-off: upgrading delays
They were almost unheard of until a contractor pulled out of works
at Marine Terrace and a reader called this paper
By Leong Pik Yin
WHEN university lecturer Eugene Tan, 34, called The Straits Times
Newsline last June about stalled upgrading works at Marine Terrace,
he was not even sure whether or not the newspaper would pick up the
story.
RESULT: GOVT ACTION
What Mr Tan's phone call led to:
June 6: The Straits Times runs the story about stalled upgrading
works at Marine Terrace.
June 8: Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, an MP for Marine Parade
GRC, promises action on the stalled works - the result of three
contractors running into financial difficulties, one after
another.
June 10: National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan visits the
site, as HDB's contingency contractor Teambuild Construction rushes
to complete unfinished works in residents' flats.
June 11: HDB chief executive Niam Chiang Meng visits some Marine
Terrace residents. He apologises for delay.
June 22: Mr Mah tells Parliament that the Government will review
its tendering process, said to be a reason for the upgrading woes,
as desperate contractors put in below-cost bids.
June 30: Mr Mah tells Parliament that works at Marine Terrace
will be tendered out and the new contractor will start work in
August.
Aug 6: HDB reveals that its Main Upgrading Programme has been
rejected by residents of Pandan Gardens - the first time since the
programme began in 1992.
Aug 13: Contingency contractor Teambuild Construction is awarded
the contract at Marine Terrace.
Oct 11: The Government sets new rules for all public projects to
help ensure faster payment for contractors.
It did. And the issue continued to hog media headlines for
weeks.
Upgrading delays were almost unheard of until then. And this was in
the Prime Minister's constituency too.
Since upgrading works had begun in December 2001, three contractors
had pulled out of the project one after the other because of
financial difficulties.
When the third, Sum Keong Construction, abandoned the site last
June, some households had to contend with unfinished toilets,
exposed sewage pipes and piles of uncleared debris.
'It was unbelievable,' recalled Mr Tan who had to live without a
toilet bowl for several days.
When he noticed that no workers had turned up at the site, he
called the upgrading site office but could not get any
answers.
He then rang the Housing Board branch office, as well as the
board's headquarters, but to no avail.
'I called so many times. I even tried to reach the HDB chief. But I
kept getting the answering machine,' he said.
Fed up, Mr Tan called this newspaper's Newsline, something he had
never done before.
'I was not out to be a hero,' said Mr Tan, whose tip-off led to him
being picked as The Straits Times' top Newsline caller of the
year.
'I just wanted to raise some serious concerns. I was disappointed
and angry that we, the primary stakeholders, were being kept in the
dark and any attempts to get answers led to nothing. I also wanted
to know how it was possible for so many contractors to come and
go.'
Besides answers, Mr Tan also wanted to 'just have my life back'.
His wife and baby, then just two months old, were staying with her
parents because of the upgrading.
The Government worked fast, and HDB's contingency contractor
Teambuild Construction completed the works inside residents' flats
in double-quick time.
The brouhaha also brought to light other cases of construction
delays. Many were linked to the financial woes of contractors, who
have been badly hit by the economic downturn.
'I'm glad that something good has come out of this whole
fiasco.
'The hotline is a fantastic tool. Things really moved after the
matter was put in the public's view,' Mr Tan said.
The upgrading is scheduled for completion in June but there may be
a delay of up to two months.
'I'm sure the new contractor is working hard to try to meet the
June deadline,' said Mr Tan, who is now on a fellowship programme
in the United States.
'I'm just glad to be away from all the dust and noise.'