Claire Huang Channel NewsAsia 17 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE: For the first time, the Padang grounds have been hardened for the National Day Parade.
This is to ensure that the parade, including the presidential drive-past which will be held on the Padang, takes place without a hitch.
The organisers took about 10 days to complete the job.
First, they covered the field with a layer of plastic membrane. They then added 30 centimetres of recycled material and topped this with 5 centimetres of pre-mix, including tar.
Some 300 lorry-loads of recycled material were used to create a more stable platform for performers.
Ltc Boo Chin Tuan, chairman, Infrastructure & Decoration Committee, NDP 2010, says: "By hardening the performance area, we're able to provide stability for the performers. It means that we can put performances that would have heavy props, each of these props for example like a float that will weigh up to five tonnes per float onto the performance area."
Organisers say the flattened grass will regrow in four to five weeks' time.
He continues: "Compared to previous years, whatever solutions we use, the grass will wither, what was important to us was 'how quickly can we regrow back the grass after the event?', and we're satisfied that by using the recycled aggregate it actually doesn't change the underlying soil conditions." - CNA/jy
Padang NDP breaks new ground
300,000kg of concrete fragments laid across the field to reinforce it
Straits Times 17 Jun 10;
THE green field of the Padang will provide solid ground for this year's National Day Parade (NDP) instead of uneven turf.
About 300,000kg of concrete fragments from demolished buildings have been laid across 10,000 sq m of the green field.
The aim is to reinforce the ground to take the weight of 3,100 participants and up to 10 floats weighing as much as 5,000kg each.
Underneath the concrete is a plastic sheet. Asphalt will be poured over the concrete and painted white.
The solid ground in front of the old City Hall will also bear President S R Nathan's open-top vehicle, which will convey him around the parade grounds to inspect the 30 marching contingents and greet the audience.
Canvas sheets were used to cover the turf in previous NDPs held at the Padang. Organisers said the concrete layer adds stability for dancing and singing performers.
'The hardened ground also enables the parade contingents to execute a more precise drill sequence,' said Lieutenant-Colonel Boo Chin Tuan, chairman of the NDP's infrastructure and decoration committee.
A week-long test was done on the Padang's soil to ensure that the concrete mix would not contaminate it.
Lt-Col Boo said the grass would probably grow back within a month or so.
Work on the ground started earlier this month and it will be ready for the rehearsal this weekend.
Final touches are being made to transform the Padang into a dazzling showground for the Aug 9 birthday bash. The work includes erecting three LED screens and high-rise structures from which fireworks will be set off.
This year, 26,500 spectators will be able to catch the show on the actual day, more than the 25,000 who were at the Padang in 2005.
