To make lifts safer and more reliable, all People's Action Party (PAP) town councils will join hands and pump in a total of $45 million between them over the next five years.
This will go towards implementing recommendations unveiled by the PAP Town Councils Lift Taskforce yesterday, which the 15 town councils have accepted.
Set up in July and led by PAP town councils' coordinating chairman Teo Ho Pin, the task force made its recommendations upon the completion of a study to improve lift safety and reliability.
Housing Board lift issues have been in the spotlight in recent years after a spate of accidents and injuries.
One task-force recommendation is for all lifts to have a surveillance system with 24/7 monitoring.
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$450m
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Amount the Government has set aside over 10 years to co-fund 90 per cent of lift modernisation works
Another is for all PAP town councils to undergo the HDB's Lift Enhancement Programme (LEP).
For this optional scheme, the Government has set aside about $450 million over 10 years to co-fund 90 per cent of lift modernisation works. Town councils pay the rest. "The PAP town councils will prioritise the LEP implementation over the next 10 years based on the age and performance of the lifts," the task force said.
The $45 million allocated by PAP town councils will go towards this LEP, as well as "additional resources for the lift support team under the care of PAP town councils", said the task force in response to queries. This is on top of usual lift expenditures. The task force could not provide a total estimate of current lift spending across PAP town councils.
Other recommendations concern servicing and maintenance.
Besides incorporating new lift maintenance outcomes, all PAP town councils should do additional checks and carry out preventive maintenance on key components.
Lift servicing should take an average of 100 minutes per lift, subject to the number of lift landings.
The task force also recommended that all PAP town councils jointly develop a system to monitor the performance of lifts and lift contractors. "This will allow town councils to benchmark the performance standards of their lifts and lift contractors," it said.
All PAP town councils should also conduct cost analysis on lift spending, provide information on lift contractor performance to HDB for tender evaluation, and develop a protocol for the use of lifts by renovation contractors.
