CPIB looks into Changi Motorsports Hub deal

Sources say CPIB is investigating award of the tender to the winning consortium
Nisha Ramchandani Business Times 6 Jan 11;

(SINGAPORE) The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is looking into the tender awarded by Singapore Sports Council (SSC) to build the upcoming $380 million Changi Motorsports Hub, BT understands.

When contacted, the CPIB said it was unable to comment.

However, a source told BT that the probe relates to the award of the tender for the Changi Motorsports Hub to the SG Changi consortium and whether there was any information leakage during the tender process, which would have given one party an advantage over the other parties.

There is also talk that one or more SSC staff involved with the tender for the project had been looking at joining SG Changi some months ago, which ultimately did not materialise. SG Changi declined to comment when contacted.

SG Changi was awarded the tender in March last year, pipping Singapore Agro Agriculture - the company behind food-and-retail mall Turf City - and Haw Par Corporation-backed Sports Services to operate the Changi Motorsports Hub for a 30-year period.

BT understands from a source that SG Changi is co-operating with the CPIB and that the consortium insists that no money changed hands during the tender process.

In response to queries from BT, a spokesperson for the SSC said: 'We are unable to comment on this matter at this point in time.'

It hasn't quite been smooth sailing for SG Changi since it first won the bid in the first quarter of last year to build and operate the Changi Motorsports Hub.

For starters, the consortium saw a management reshuffle last year, with former Japan GT driver Genji Hashimoto - previously SG Changi's managing director - leaving the group while Japanese businessman Moto Sakuma came onboard as director.

Other members who constitute the group include executive chairman Fuminori Murahashi as well as director Thia Yoke Kian, the former owner of Jurong Kart World.

Construction of the facility also took a while to kick off, with piling commencing late last year, despite the group breaking ground in July on the 41-hectare sea-facing site near Changi Airport.

According to a media report in December, SG Changi reportedly said that it still hopes to have the motorsports hub completed by the original target of end-2011, with the first race to take place as early as March 2012.

'SG Changi has already started piling works and completion is on track by end-2011,' an SSC spokesperson confirmed yesterday.

Located along Aviation Park Road, the Changi Motorsports Hub will include a Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Grade-2 certified 3.7 km racetrack, a 1.2 km karting track, a drift track, a bonded warehouse and seating capacity for some 20,000 spectators plus a 10,000-seat temporary grandstand.

It aims to host a calendar of both local and international racing events, including the Formula One of motorcycling, MotoGP.

The round-the-clock facility will also feature an entertainment complex, a motor museum, food and beverage and retail outlets as well as a hotel.

Motorsports hub tender under probe
Terrence Voon Straits Times 6 Jan 11;

THE Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) has begun a probe into the tender for the $380 million Changi Motorsports Hub.

Sources told The Straits Times that a senior official at the motorsports industry development arm of the Singapore Sports Council as well as others involved in the deal have been called up for interviews and lie detector tests.

Investigations were said to have begun last year, after the CPIB was tipped off about possible irregularities in the tender for the upcoming motorsports hub, which was won by the SG Changi consortium in March.

The tender was announced in 2009, and the winner was picked by a panel of government agencies and consultants.

SG Changi - fronted by home-grown Jurong Kart World along with its Japanese partners - eventually beat two other bidders for the right to build the 41ha facility off Changi Coast Road. The other two consortia who put in bids were Singapore Agro Agriculture and Sports Services, which was backed by public-listed leisure and health-care products firm Haw Par Corporation.

In March last year, government figures praised the winning bid for its innovative 3.7km track design which allows for two races to be staged simultaneously; the quality of the international and local events to be brought in, and the group's financial strength.

Aimed at cementing Singapore's reputation as a regional motorsports hub following the first Formula One (F1) night race here in 2008, it is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The Changi track is slated to host its first race early next year, and there has been talk of it staging a MotoGP leg, motorcycle's equivalent of F1.

The tendering process for the mega-project was handled by the sports council's motorsports department, which was set up in recent years to promote the sport here.

It is staffed by a small group of officials, some of whom were seconded from other government departments.

Sources said the senior official at the centre of the probe is known as a passionate champion of motorsports here, and his involvement in the investigations has come as a shock.

The CPIB case - which has been going on for months - is believed to have been extended to include the consortium, which received its permit to start work from the authorities last month.

It was also reported last month that SG Changi's director Genji Hashimoto, a former race driver, had resigned suddenly. He has since been replaced by businessman Moto Sakuma.

When contacted yesterday, both the CPIB and Mr Sakuma declined to comment. Mr Alvin Hang, the sports council's director of corporate communications and relations, also said: 'We are unable to comment on this matter at this point in time.'

It is not known if the investigations have been conclusive so far. But according to Mr Chia Boon Teck, a partner at Chia Wong law firm, lie detector tests are standard in graft cases where the evidence is not clear-cut.

He said: 'These tests are not compulsory, and it is up to the suspect whether or not to undergo it.'

Graft probe 'won't delay Motorsports Hub project'
Japanese director says project is on track for end-2011 completion
Leonard Lim & Jonathan Wong Straits Times 7 Jan 11;

ONE of the leading figures behind the construction of the Changi Motorsports Hub insists the timescale for the project will not be affected and that it will be completed by the end of the year.

This, despite news that the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) is probing those involved in the tender process, the latest blow to the $380 million project which has faced delays and other troubles since it was first announced in 2007.

'Work will still go ahead,' Japanese businessman Moto Sakuma vowed yesterday.

'We are still on track for the end-2011 completion date,' he added.

At the construction site off Changi Coast Road yesterday, a security guard denied The Straits Times entry but from the gate, signs of activity were visible, including a lorry that was spotted entering the compound.

Mr Sakuma, one of four directors of the private sector winning consortium SG Changi, was not prepared to comment further. The other three directors are Mr Fuminori Murahashi, former Jurong Kart World owner Thia Yoke Kian, and Mr Eddie Koh.

The 41ha project has been hampered by delays from the start.

The announcement of the Request for Proposals from interested parties was made only in March 2009, instead of the original date of May 2008. And despite a ground-breaking ceremony last July, SG Changi received its permit to start work only last month.

The track is slated to flag off its first race by March or April next year.

SG Changi was named the winning bidder last March after beating two other bids - one from Singapore Agro Agriculture, and the other from Sports Services, which is backed by public-listed Haw Par Corporation.

But since then there has been talk about the group being tight for cash, and it has also seen management changes. Mr Sakuma himself came on board last year, replacing former Japanese race driver Gengi Hashimoto after he left the group.

While spokesmen for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports and the Singapore Sports Council declined comment yesterday, others in the motorsports fraternity expressed shock.

There were also concerns that the news may dent the country's hopes of cementing itself as a regional motorsports centre.

Mr Tan Teng Lip, president of the Singapore Motor Sports Association, said investigations were still in progress and it was not the time to comment.

'But if the charges are proven to be true, then of course it will have negative impact on Singapore's reputation.'

While not involved in the hub's construction, Mr Tan helps SG Changi in dealing with the sport's international bodies to ensure the track design meets their specifications.

The hub, which can host any motor race except Formula One, plans to stage at least three international races every year, such as MotoGP and Japan's Super GT, once completed.

Singapore's leading race driver Melvin Choo expressed the wish of many racing fans in Singapore. He said: 'I hope that whatever comes out of it, we are still on course for a circuit we can all be proud of.'