Changi Motorsports Hub dreams crash and burn

PLANS for Singapore's very own motorsports hub ground to a halt yesterday, after the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) announced it would not be holding another round of tender for the 41-hectare site. 

The national sports body recently concluded a Request for Information exercise for the motorsports hub project, which saw seven proposals being submitted by six consortia.

However, SSC CEO, Lim Teck Yin, said: “The SSC has decided not to proceed with the re-tender as potential investors had indicated significant combined conditions for the project to be commercially viable, which we cannot accede to.”

These “conditions” include flexibility of lease terms and land use, and tax subsidies or concessions from the government.

“After careful consideration and in consultation with other government agencies, we have decided not to proceed with the re-tender,” Lim said.

In 2010, Japanese-led consortium SG Changi won a S$36 million (US$28.6 milion) bid to construct the Changi Motorsports Hub but ran into financial difficulties and delays a year later, according to local broadsheet The Straits Times.

Consequently, SSC terminated its contract with the consortium in 2012. 

Nevertheless, travellers with a passion for motorsports can still get their fix near home – a RM3.5 billion (US$1.1 billion) motorsports hub is scheduled to launch its first phase by 2016 in Johor’s Iskandar region (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 5, 2012).

Sourced: ttgasia