Search the Community

Cost of treating and supplying water in Singapore up significantly, says PUB Due to higher construction and manpower costs, the second phase of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System will cost S$6.5 billion – almost twice that of the first phase. SINGAPORE: The cost of treating and supplying water has risen significantly with energy and construction costs driving up expenses, said national water agency PUB on Friday (Sep 22). Achieving water security has become “more challenging” globally and Singapore is no exception, PUB said during a progress update of the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant. About a third of the plant – a key component in the second phase of Singapore’s Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) – has been completed. Some of the challenges include climate change which has increased the frequency of extreme weather, increased water demand that is projected to almost double by 2065, as well as external cost pressures due to global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical events. “These external cost pressures are not unique to PUB,” said the agency, highlighting the increased costs for energy, construction, chemicals and maintenance. Energy costs have gone up as the average electricity tariffs increased by almost 37 per cent since 2017 – and about 50 per cent at its peak – due to rising fuel prices. “With increasing water demand, PUB needs to tap on more energy-intensive supply sources such as desalination and NEWater, and treat more used water,” said the agency. Overall construction costs in Singapore have gone up by 35 per cent since 2017. Constructing water infrastructure in an increasingly urbanised environment is more costly as it involves building more compact structures to lower land footprint, and adopting less-intrusive construction methods to minimise the need for road or utility diversions, said PUB. Citing an example of a less-intrusive method of constructing pipelines known as pipejacking, PUB said the cost of using this method is now S$17 million (US$12.4 million) for every kilometre - a 70 per cent increase from the S$10 million per km in 2017. Due to higher construction and manpower costs, the second phase of DTSS will cost S$6.5 billion. This is almost twice that of Phase 1, which cost S$3.4 billion when it was built almost two decades ago, said PUB. The cost of constructing the deep tunnels for Phase 2 has also more than tripled, the agency added. In addition, the operating expenses for chemicals, which are key materials in the water treatment process, have grown by about 33 per cent since 2017. The maintenance costs of the water system have also risen by 18 per cent, as COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions have driven increases in costs for manpower and parts for the water system. SAVING ENERGY, SPACE AND COSTS To improve energy efficiency, the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant will incorporate water treatment technologies to allow the plant to generate 80 per cent of the energy it requires to treat used water. This is a “vast improvement” compared to the 25 per cent at the water reclamation plants in Ulu Pandan and Jurong, said PUB. The plant will also increase the rate of NEWater recovery without using additional energy. To offset higher construction costs, treated effluent will be directly discharged into the sea. This way, a long and deep discharge pipe need not be constructed, which would have cost at least S$650 million, said PUB. The national water agency added it will also implement technologies at the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant for 30 per cent more compact treatment units compared to the conventional ones, thus reducing land footprint. Biological treatment processes for odour control and primary treatment of used water will be deployed at the plant to reduce the need for chemicals. PUB added that it is also implementing smart technologies such as online sensors and automated systems to ensure the plant’s operations are cost- and manpower-efficient. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/tuas-water-reclamation-plant-energy-construction-pub-deep-tunnel-sewerage-system-3788511 Cost of delivering water continues to rise and will need to be reflected in water prices: Amy Khor https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/cost-of-delivering-water-continues-to-rise-and-will-need-to-be-reflected-in-water-prices-amy-khor brace brace brace

New BudgetMealGoWhere portal to help residents find cheaper meals in HDB coffee shops A new website to help residents find cheaper meals in the neighbourhood was launched by HDB and GovTech on May 19 Named BudgetMealGoWhere, about 40 participating coffee shops are listed for a start Coffee shops and the available budget meal options will start with those located within 2km of the postal code entered HDB said that budget meals will progressively be offered at all 374 HDB rental coffee shops by 2026 Patrons and stall owners interviewed generally welcomed the new initiative and made some suggestions on what they would like to see SINGAPORE — A new portal has been launched to help consumers easily locate Housing and Development Board (HDB) coffee shops offering budget meals. HDB and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) said in a joint statement on Friday (May 19) that the new “BudgetMealGoWhere” website will allow the public to search for HDB coffee shops offering budget meals near their location and view the budget meals and drinks available at these places. This can be done by entering a postal code in the website’s search box. A list of the coffee shops and the available budget meal options will appear, starting with those located within 2km of the postal code. The portal will also be accessible through the LifeSG mobile application and website. Budget meal options refer to lunch or dinner meals that are priced affordably compared to the average price of meals sold at nearby eating establishments. These budget meals must be full meals, and not side dishes, snacks, children's meal or half-portion meals. Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development, announced in Parliament in March that all coffee shops leased from HDB have to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal starting May. As a start, all older coffee shops leased from HDB that are due for renewal will need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks across two or more different stalls as a condition of their tenancy renewal. Two of the budget meals must be rice-based and one must be halal. These coffee shops must also offer at least two budget drinks, which are black coffee (kopi-o) and black tea (teh-o). "The budget meal and drink prices will be benchmarked against economically priced food-and-beverage offerings in nearby neighbourhood coffee shops," Ms Sim said at the time. Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for National Development, announced in Parliament in March that all coffee shops leased from HDB have to offer budget meal options upon their tenancy renewal starting May. As a start, all older coffee shops leased from HDB that are due for renewal will need to provide four budget meals and two budget drinks across two or more different stalls as a condition of their tenancy renewal. Two of the budget meals must be rice-based and one must be halal. These coffee shops must also offer at least two budget drinks, which are black coffee (kopi-o) and black tea (teh-o). "The budget meal and drink prices will be benchmarked against economically priced food-and-beverage offerings in nearby neighbourhood coffee shops," Ms Sim said at the time. There are a total of 776 coffee shops in Singapore, of which 374 are under HDB and 402 are privately owned. On the new BudgetMealGoWhere website, about 40 coffee shops are listed, with more being progressively added. “HDB will work with GovTech to continually improve the website’s functionality and listing to make it more useful for Singaporeans, and members of the public can also provide feedback on the budget meals,” the two agencies said. To help customers in identifying budget meals more easily, participating stalls will display the budget meal decal stickers on their food display signage, indicating the budget meals on offer. HDB has completed 37 new coffee shops in the last five years as part of efforts to ensure that residents have access to affordable cooked food, the two agencies added. "Another 34 coffee shops are slated for completion in the next five years, to meet the needs of residents." WHAT PATRONS, FOOD SELLERS SAY Commenting on the new initiative, customers and food stall owners who spoke to TODAY generally welcomed it and suggested how it can be improved. TODAY visited three coffee shops, all of which were among the 40 participating coffee shops listed on the website. Most patrons could see themselves using the site, but some mentioned how it might present problems for older users. Madam Sissi Lin, a scientist who did not want to reveal her age, said: “I think it’s quite comprehensive. I’m just concerned because I believe there will be some older people who might want to use it. Maybe the font size of the text can be bigger (for those who find it hard to reading small print).” One suggested that photographs can accompany the meals being listed. Mr Jason Lim, a 22-year-old engineer, said: “It would be nice if there are pictures of the food or reviews. Maybe it’s cheap but the portion is small. If there are pictures or reviews, people will know.” Madam Noradila Affandi, 37, who works in the digital security field, suggested having pictures of the coffee shops for people to recognise them easily. Civil servant Benjamin Tan, 31, said: “They show some coffee shops that are way too far. There are a few coffee shops in Clementi but they are probably not listed yet." Stall owners generally believed that the new website will help to bring in more customers. Mr Kelvin Lee, 26, who runs an economical rice stall at a coffee shop in Bukit Batok, said that he had seen about 30 more customers than usual who have bought the budget meal, which is a rice with meat and two kinds of vegetables at S$3. The BudgetMealGoWhere website is at https://www.gowhere.gov.sg/budgetmeal/. https://www.gowhere.gov.sg/budgetmeal/ https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/new-budgetmealgowhere-portal-help-residents-find-cheaper-meals-hdb-coffee-shops-2175151 only 40 coffee shops are on BudgetMealGoWhere at present. hopefully more will come on for this initiative to gain traction and awareness.

Are prices in Singapore going up and what is the Government doing about it? https://www.gov.sg/article/singapore-is-it-really-the-most-expensive-place-to-live Singapore was ranked the second most expensive city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in its Worldwide Cost of Living 2021 survey. In its ranking published on 1 December 2021, Singapore was tied in second place with Paris, up from fourth position in the previous year. However, the EIU’s findings may not reflect the cost of living of Singaporean households and here are the reasons why. First, the composition of items in the EIU consumption basket is different from the typical consumption pattern of Singaporean households. The EIU survey is designed to enable Human Resource managers around the world to calculate cost-of-living allowances and put together compensation packages for expatriates and business travellers. The EIU consumption basket is not based on the typical consumption pattern of Singaporean households and is therefore not a good gauge of cost of living for Singaporean households. For instance, the EIU consumption basket includes items such as international foreign daily newspapers that tend to be more expensive than what Singaporean households typically consume like local newspapers. A more representative indicator of cost of living in Singapore is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the average change in the prices of a basket of goods and services commonly purchased by Singaporean households. Second, the EIU survey findings were compiled by comparing the prices of goods and services across countries and converting them from their local currencies to US dollars. This means that the rankings are sensitive to currency fluctuations. However, currency fluctuations have less impact on the cost of living of Singaporeans who earn their income in Singapore dollars. Are prices in Singapore going up? Nevertheless, like many economies around the world, Singapore is seeing higher inflation lately. Inflation in recent months has been driven by both external and domestic drivers. How have prices in Singapore changed over time? Based on the CPI, prices rose by 2.9% between July and November 2021, compared to 1.5% in the first half of 2021. This follows from a 0.2% decline in prices in 2020. You can access more information on the CPI from the Singapore Department of Statistics’ website here. How is the Government helping Singaporeans to manage rising costs? 1. Manage domestic supply-side constraints. This includes managing the supply of industrial and commercial space, to help moderate business cost increases and reduce the knock-on impact on consumer prices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government has also disbursed rental relief and implemented schemes such as the Wage Credit Scheme, Jobs Support Scheme and Jobs Growth Incentive Scheme to help businesses cope with costs. 2. Promote competition in markets so that Singaporeans can enjoy competitive prices. This includes lowering barriers to entry, where possible. It also entails diversifying the sources of supply, including for food, to prevent sharp price increases in the event of disruptions. 3. Shift towards an appreciating path for the trade-weighted Singapore dollar (the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate or S$NEER). A stronger Singapore dollar helps to mitigate imported inflation and temper domestic cost, to ensure price stability over the medium term. 4. Implement community support programmes. The Government has worked with cooperatives such as NTUC FairPrice on programmes to help Singaporeans cope with higher prices for daily necessities. In addition, Singaporeans can tap on these support schemes: GST Voucher - For eligible Singaporeans aged 21 and above. This includes cash payouts, MediSave top-up and U-Save rebates for utilities. Grocery Voucher - For eligible Singaporeans aged 21 and above living in 1- and 2-room HDB flats. This is to support household expenses. ComCare Assistance - Targeted support for low-income households. This includes cash assistance for basic living expenses, assistance with household and medical bills, as well as employment assistance and referrals for other forms of support.

Singapore has officially overtaken japan by a mile. http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index

Hey hey hey ......... Sg make it again .......... top 10 ! World Ranking Who say Japan is expensive .......... haha

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stocks-mostly-upbeat-us-retail-sales-084209687--finance.html Since utility prices are pegged to oil, why hasn't PUB lowered the electricity tariffs?