NAC bin centre involved “much more than a typical consultancy”: Lawrence Wong
The construction of the bin centre located outside the Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM) involved “much more than a typical consultancy,” said Lawrence Wong, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), on Monday (15 August).
Besides coming up with a joint refuse collection solution for Victoria Theatre, Victoria Concert Hall, the Asian Civilisation Museum (ACM), the Old Parliament House and Parliament House, the consultation also involved optimising the space and preserving the historical buildings in the vicinity, Wong said in Parliament.
Wong was responding to questions by Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Kok Heng Leun on the recent Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) report, in which the AGO said that the National Arts Council (NAC) had spent an “exceptionally high” consultancy fee of $410,000 for the bin centre. Together with the $470,000 construction cost, the bin centre cost at least $880,000.
Wong was covering for MCCY Minister Grace Fu, who is at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Government saved $420,000 for construction
Wong highlighted that the government was able to save $420,000 as the contractor had initially quoted $890,000 for the construction cost of the bin centre, which was brought down to $470,000.
On the AGO report, Wong said, “I should highlight that AGO did not conclude that the consultant was overpaid, but AGO was concerned about the process by which the consultancy fees were assessed.
“In this regard, MCCY acknowledges that there should have been more detailed documentation to explain clearly the scope and complexity of the consultancy services.”
Wong said that the consultancy’s quotation of $410,000 was found to be within the range of consultancy fees for other “complex projects” in the vicinity.
The consultancy had conducted an extensive study of the different areas prior to constructing the bin centre, including studying the operational needs of different stakeholders, identifying the optimal location, assessing pedestrian and traffic flows and studying air flow and implementing odour control measures, Wong added.
Constructing the bin centre also involved a new access to the basement underneath it, which required the tearing down of existing structures, the relocation of existing services, and planning vehicular access to the loading bay. All of these had to be carried out without disruption to the museum and its tenants, said Wong.
