Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan gave his assurance on Sunday, saying the proposed $1.87 billion sports complex will not be abandoned.

He was responding to a question at a dialogue during a ministerial walkabout. A resident had expressed concern at the numerous delays in the project.

A group, named Singapore Sports Hub Consortium, had won the bid to build the Sports Hub in January last year, but there has been little sign of progress.

The old National Stadium was due to be torn down in April last year, but it is still standing. Last week, the consortium said the economic crisis was causing difficulties in financing the project, sparking more speculation over its health.

On Sunday, the minister stated categorically that the sports hub will go ahead.

'I will give you that assurance, we will be building a new sports hub, the timing is a bit flexible because right now the consortium whom we have intended to award it to, they have to raise funds from the banks and you know because of the financial crisis, the banks are also checking two, three, four times before they lend money,' he explained.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.