Chairman apologises for Sports Hub's problems

He described the public-private partnership as one of the most important investments for the shareholders.

In that regard, Mark Woodhams, chairman of the board of directors of Sports Hub Pte Ltd, apologised for issues like the poor state of the pitch.

Speaking to The New Paper yesterday, he said: "It's a complicated project. It is the world's largest integrated sport and lifestyle hub.

"We got a unique cluster of venues addressing sport and the community. It's visionary and it's ground-breaking and we are very proud of what we have achieved.

"But we know that as we have been pushing boundaries, it's difficult to foresee every eventuality and we acknowledge we have had some teething challenges and we are sorry for those whose experience of the venue has fallen short of their expectations."

DELIVER PROMISE

As Singapore counts down to the opening of the 2015 South-east Asia (SEA) Games on June 5 at the National Stadium, Woodhams vowed the consortium would fix teething problems and deliver on its promise.

"I know and the board knows that the team have been working hard to address those issues and we are encouraged by the progress so far. We are taking it extremely seriously. We have taken actions to address issues such as the roof and the pitch," he said.

"The board has full confidence in the management team's ability to realise Singaporean's vision for the project and we will fix these issues."

The 35-hectare Sports Hub includes the 55,000-seater National Stadium, 12,000-capacity Indoor Stadium, 6,000-capacity OCBC Aquatic Centre, the 3,000-capacity OCBC Arena, a water sports centre, sports museum, exhibition centre and numerous public spots for sporting activities such as rock climbing and beach volleyball.

There is also a 35,000 sq/m shopping mall called the Kallang Wave.

While he did state that the bottom line was important for the public-private partnership, Woodhams insisted the consortium was fully aware how important the success of the $1.33 billion project is for Singapore, and Singaporeans.

"It's a very long-term project with a lot of history and a lot of future in front of us.

"In that context, we are very conscious this project is a partnership, both within our consortium and with Sport SG and the rest of Singapore, and we are committed to working together in this partnership.

"And we know it's only by close cooperation with Sport SG and our own partners that we will be able to deliver a successful project for Singapore."

davidlee@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Jan 14, 2015.
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