Exercise prudence in budget for SEA Games 2015

Question

Assoc Prof Tan Kheng Boon Eugene: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the total budget allocated for the 28th Southeast Asian Games to be held in Singapore in June 2015; (b) what measures are in place to ensure that the spending limits are strictly observed so that the budget is not exceeded; and (c) whether any profits are expected to be generated from the Games.

Response

Minister Lawrence Wong: The Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) is presently finalising the budget for the SEA Games, as some of the detailed specifications for the Games are pending confirmation.

SINGSOC is keeping a close watch on the costs of hosting the Games, and working hard to keep costs down. For example, it has been working closely with the Singapore National Olympic Council and the SEA Games Federation to manage key cost drivers under its control, such as the number of sports and events, as well as appropriate service levels for areas such as hospitality and competition setups. To minimise development costs, the Games will largely be held in existing sports facilities, including our new Sports Hub.  SINGSOC is also working hard to seek corporate sponsorship to defray the costs of organising the Games. There will, however, be cost factors that are less easy to control such as security provisions which are based on prevailing risk assessments and manpower costs.

Based on the experience of other SEA Games, we do not expect to generate profits out of these Games. Other than corporate sponsorship, the other main source of income is ticket sales. However, we intend to price the tickets to encourage participation, and not to try to fully recover costs, let alone generate profits.

We are hosting the SEA Games as part of our responsibilities as a member of ASEAN. We will do it prudently and in a way which creates lasting benefits for the sport scene in Singapore.