Nisha Ramchandani Business Times 12 Apr 11;
THE brakes, it seems, are still in place. Piling work at the Changi Motorsports Hub site has not started back up as foundation specialist CSC Holdings has yet to receive the balance of the outstanding progress payment owed by consortium SG Changi.
Mainboard-listed CSC would only say yesterday that there were 'no new developments' and that CSC is 'still talking to (SG Changi) about a resolution'.
This is despite a media report in late March which said that SG Changi is in talks with a potential investor.
The report also quoted SG Changi's head of people innovations, Andrew Ujiie, as saying that it is 'confident in meeting (its) commitments to build the track'.
In its last update on the motorsports hub to the Singapore Exchange (SGX) dated Feb 23, CSC's wholly owned subsidiary, CS Construction & Geotechnic (CSCG), was still owed an outstanding amount of $5 million after receiving a partial payment from SG Changi.
The partial payment received had reduced the outstanding amount from $10 million (as at Feb 16) to $5 million.
CSCG was first awarded the $50 million piling contract by SG Changi in October last year but in mid-January, the foundation specialist ceased work on the 41-hectare site along Aviation Park Road after SG Changi failed to make payments that were due.
There is also talk that SG Changi is facing demands from other parties that have yet to be paid. Mr Ujiie did not return calls from BT yesterday.
SG Changi reportedly ran into funding difficulties after news broke in January that the $380 million project was being investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).
Sources had told BT previously that the probe relates to the award of the tender for the Changi Motorsports Hub to SG Changi and whether there was any information leakage during the tender process.
With piling works on hold for nearly three months now, the question remains whether the Changi Motorsports Hub will be ready by the end of this year as initially planned, and whether the first race will flag off in March 2012 as previously targeted.
The Singapore Sports Council - which called the tender for the motorsports hub - did not respond to queries by press time.
Mr Ujiie was quoted some weeks ago as saying that it has signed Japan's Formula Nippon to race here next year and that it is still in talks with MotoGP, Australia's V8 Supercars, and the Superleague Formula Series.
The Changi Motorsports Hub, seen as a key thrust in Singapore's bid to develop its motorsports industry, is expected to have features such as a 3.7km racetrack, a 1.2km karting track, food and beverage and retail outlets, as well as a hotel.
