Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on shops in HDB estates that opted for Revitalisation of Shops scheme in the past three years and steps to boost participation

Oct 5, 2022

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development

(a) in the past three years, how many shops in HDB housing estates have opted for the enhanced Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) scheme to upgrade the common property fronting their shops; and
(b) what steps can be taken to boost the numbers of shops participating in the enhanced ROS scheme.

Answer:

      The last batch of Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) sites announced in 2016 comprised 13 town and neighbourhood centres that applied for co-funding for upgrading of common areas, of which five eventually proceeded with upgrading. The upgrading works for these five sites, comprising around 270 shops, were progressively completed between 2019 and 2021.

2         Since then, we have not announced any new ROS batch as HDB is reviewing the scheme. As part of this review, we conducted Focus Group Discussions with key stakeholders like Merchants’ Associations and shop owners over 2021-2022 to gather feedback on how the ROS scheme can be improved. The feedback from these sessions has been useful in shaping some of the enhancements that we are considering for the scheme, which could translate to higher participation from shops.

3         For instance, some participants had shared that the current ROS requirement to obtain 100% support from benefiting shop owners means that upgrading works cannot proceed if a small number of shop owners oppose the upgrading, even if the majority are in support.

4         We are currently firming up the details of the ROS enhancements and will be sharing more details in the coming months.