Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on implementing Home Improvement Programme

Jul 4, 2017

Mr Png Eng Huat: To ask the Minister for National Development in respect of the Home Improvement Programme (HIP)

(a) what is the average time taken between polling to awarding a contract and to starting work; and

(b) which precincts are experiencing the longest delay in implementing HIP to date since the programme started and how long has been the delay.

Answer:

Upon the selection of the HIP projects, HDB will call Design and Build tenders to procure contractors and consultants for the projects.  This process typically takes about 8 months. Once the tenders have been awarded, the contractors and consultants will work with HDB and the HIP Working Committees, which comprise representatives from the Town Council, Grassroots leaders and residents, to design and work out the HIP package. Residents are then consulted and engaged through straw polls before the formal HIP poll is conducted. 

The average time taken between the award of an HIP contract to polling is about 9 months.  After polling, residents are given 6 weeks to select and opt for the HIP works.  Contractors will then prepare the materials before they start the HIP works, usually around 4 months after polling.

In practice, the time taken for the HIP process differs from one HIP project to another, and may not always fall within these general time frames. For example, progress of projects is dependent on technical constraints on the ground and site-specific issues such as any affected underground services. Projects where the design proposal is more complex, especially where it involves features such as electrical upgrading works, can also take longer to complete.