Snazzy water taxis to liven up the Singapore River

Hong Xinyi & Tessa Wong, Straits Times 20 Feb 08;

$7m fleet of 20 electric boats is part of major revamp of S'pore River and surrounding areas to boost businesses there

A SLEEK fleet of electric water taxis will start plying the Singapore River from April.

Operated by tour company Singapore Ducktours, the 20 vessels, costing $7 million in all, will be part of the changes that will transform the riverfront into a dining, nightlife and tourism destination.

The new boats will replace those operated by tourism and leisure company Singapore Explorer, which began its service in 1995 and ended it on Dec 31 last year.

Another company, Singapore River Cruises & Leisure, will continue running its bumboat service on the river.

Players in the nightlife industry were all for a spruced-up river taxi service.

Mr Bernard Lim, executive vice-president of LifeBrandz, which runs the Ministry Of Sound and Lunar at Clarke Quay, said: 'The river links all the hubs of the nightlife scene and we should make full use of that.'

He added that newer, snazzier boats would encourage more people to hop onto river taxis to get from quay to quay, which 'would be a brilliant start'.

News of the changes to the river taxi service come ahead of an announcement by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) of a major revamp of the river and its neighbourhoods.

It has been speculated that renovations will begin at Boat Quay, Empress Place and Clarke Quay in April, ahead of September's Formula One race. Improvements to Robertson Quay and the Zouk vicinity will follow.

The Straits Times understands that meetings about the revamp, involving STB, business owners and venue operators have been taking place over the past year.

Mr Colin Goh, 40, general manager of performing arts venue The Arts House said the consultations were rigorous and stirred up enthusiasm among industry players.

'These upcoming changes will potentially change the entire complexion of the Singapore River,' he said.

The revamp will entail 'infrastructure enhancements' and 'the staging of signature events', STB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement last year. The year before, the URA announced plans to light up the promenades along the river and the water itself.

The revamp is expected to go some way towards drawing 10.8 million visitors here and getting them to spend $15.5 billion this year.

The riverside neighbourhoods have attracted tourists and Singaporeans since businesses were allowed into the area in the late 1980s, but a magic formula for sustained success has proved elusive. The area has been renovated many times with mixed results.

Boat Quay, for instance, has lost considerable lustre in recent years; Clarke Quay's current success has come only after several less-than-successful makeovers over the years.

Most business owners The Straits Times spoke to said it is time something is done; some are also willing to spend money to renovate their interiors.

Mr Andy Ashok Vaswani, the director of Bollywood nightclub Khazana at Boat Quay, noted that STB has been promoting Clarke Quay in the last five or six years at Boat Quay's expense.

He said: 'It'll be a good thing if they put the changes in place. Boat Quay used to be in the tourist belt. But when you say 'tourist belt', you have to be promoting something for the tourists in the first place.'

Mr Mohan Mulani, chief executive of Harry's Holdings, which runs a chain of pubs, agreed.

'These changes are long overdue. The river is the gem of Singapore, but it has become a little worn out. Re-invigorating these areas is a great idea.

'Historically, the river has been where all the action happens.'