Malaria battle given $3bn boost

BBC News 26 Sep 08;

Gordon Brown, Bill Gates and U2's Bono at the summit

World leaders and philanthropistshave pledged nearly $3bn (£1.6bn) to fight malaria at a summit in New York.

The meeting, at the UN, is looking at ways of meeting the Millennium Development Goals - targets on reducing global poverty by the year 2015.

Donors hope the money will be enough to eradicate malaria by that time.

The money includes $1.1bn (£598m) from the World Bank and $1.6bn (£870m) from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The British government and private organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have promised the rest.

Malaria still kills more than a million people each year, according to the World Health Organization.

The funding, will be used to support rapid implementation of the first ever Global Malaria Action Plan (Gmap).

Long-term effort

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in a statement that the extra money would help "sharply reduce the numbers of malaria-related deaths and illness" in the next three years.

According to Gmap's projections, more than 4.2 million lives can be saved between 2008 and 2015, if its plan is put into action, and the foundation can be laid for a longer-term effort to eradicate the disease.

The BBC's Heather Alexander says leaders are focusing on eradicating malaria to counter criticisms that the millennium targets will not be met.



British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined the presidents of Rwanda and Tanzania as well as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to reassure the world that their goal is achievable.

Alongside the offers of money came reassurance from African leaders that efforts are working.

President Paul Kagame, of Rwanda, said malaria deaths have fallen by more than 60% in his country.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is to provide $168.7m (£91m) to fund a Malaria Vaccine Initiative for research on a new generation of anti-malaria vaccines.

Microsoft founder Mr Gates said: "We need innovation, new drugs, and the most dramatic thing we need is vaccine.

"If we build on this momentum, we can save million of lives and chart a long-term course for eradication of this disease."

Britain's Department for International Development pledged £40m ($73.5m) to support the Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria.

It also pledged to increase its malaria research funding to at least £5m ($9.1m) a year by 2010 and supply 20 million of the 125 million bed nets still needed in affected areas.

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Donors pledge $6.1 billion to climate change funds

David Lawder, Reuters 26 Sep 08;

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Industrialized countries pledged more than $6.1 billion on Friday to international investment funds aimed at helping developing countries adopt cleaner technologies and mitigate growth in greenhouse gas emissions, the World Bank said.

The first projects to benefit from grants, highly concessional loans and loan guarantee instruments from the Climate Investment Funds are expected to be announced in early 2009, the World Bank said.

Representatives of 10 countries -- Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland Britain and the United States -- attended a donor conference hosted by the bank on Friday.

The United States has pledged $2 billion over three years, while Britain announced a commitment of 800 million pounds ($1.47 billion). Japan pledged up to $1.2 billion.

"These funds are all about demonstrating that low-carbon development and climate resilient development can happen," Andrew Steer, director general at Britain's Department for International Development, said in a statement. "They will allow us to get on with helping developing countries with their efforts on climate action."

Two trust funds are being created under the Climate Investment Funds, which will be administered by the World Bank and by multilateral development banks.

The Clean Technology Fund will invest in projects and programs in developing countries that contribute to the demonstration, deployment, and transfer of low-carbon technologies. The projects or programs must have a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas savings.

The idea behind this fund, promoted heavily by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, was to bridge the cost gap between newer, cleaner technologies, such as wind farms in the power sector, and cheaper, but older and dirtier technologies, such as coal-fired power plants.

The second fund, the Strategic Climate Fund, will be broader and more flexible in scope. It will serve as an overarching fund for various programs to test innovative approaches to climate change.

The first program under the strategic fund will work with several developing countries to study and develop strategies for dealing with the current effects of climate change, such as drought, tidal surges and agricultural problems. The research will help these countries better prepare for climate change in their future development, the World Bank said.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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California invites countries to carbon cap meeting

Reuters 26 Sep 08;

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California plans to host a meeting of several countries in November to discuss ways to limit greenhouse gas emissions, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday.

The governor's office has invited China, India, European countries, Australia, Canada and Mexico to a meeting ahead of international climate talks the following month in Poland. Details still are being worked out.

Schwarzenegger aims to reach out to certain Chinese states, for example, on emissions limits because the federal government there, as in the United States, was not acting fast enough.

"We know that Washington is asleep at the wheel. We cannot look for leadership there," he told San Francisco's Commonwealth Club to mark two years since California's own legislation to cap emissions and set up a market for carbon credits. "We are not waiting for the federal government."

On Thursday, 10 Northeastern states kicked off the first U.S. cap-and-trade market under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Schwarzenegger hoped more would join the separate Western Climate Initiative (WCI), but worried about a patchwork of rules and wanted to see a global market develop.

The WCI, including California, six other states and four provinces in Canada, aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while the RGGI will lower its emissions cap 10 percent from current levels by 2019.

Separately, Schwarzenegger reiterated his opposition to drilling off the coast of California, just days after the federal government passed legislation that will allow a national ban on offshore drilling to expire next week.

(Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Financial turmoil no bar to climate deal: U.N.

Gabriela Baczynska, Reuters 26 Sep 08;

WARSAW (Reuters) - Global financial turmoil should not hamper a new world climate deal because high energy prices remain an incentive to improve energy efficiency, the U.N.'s top climate official said on Friday.

Some analysts have said the current crisis sweeping financial markets may leave no money for investments in limiting greenhouse gas emissions amid U.N.-led talks aimed at clinching a new international deal to tackle global warming.

"I have personally not seen an economic analysis that shows the current credit crisis is having a bigger impact on the global economy than current oil prices," Yvo de Boer, head of the Bonn-based U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, told Reuters.

But he said the uncertainty generated by the credit crunch and the lack of trust in financial markets were obstacles to developing green energy projects despite the spur of oil prices around $100 a barrel.

"In spite of what's happening at the moment, I don't have the impression that lack of capital is the issue. It's investment uncertainty that has created the nervousness out there. And I think, if governments are clear in terms of climate change, that could help reduce some level of this uncertainty."

"Because if you are about to build a 500 million euro power plant and you don't know if your government will go for greenhouse gas emissions cuts of 5 percent or 50 percent, then that's a very risky decision to make," he said in an interview.

INVOLVING U.S., DEVELOPING NATIONS

Contrary to many analysts, De Boer expressed optimism on the chances of the United States joining a new global warming accord, which is due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December 2009 to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which runs to the end of 2012.

"I think it is perfectly possible the United States will sign up to the Copenhagen agreement," said de Boer, who visited Poland to review preparations for December climate talks here.

But de Boer added that the reasons Washington did not buy into Kyoto -- mainly its fears the protocol would damage the U.S. economy and the lack of targets for developing countries -- were "as relevant as they were in 1997 (when Kyoto was signed)."

Kyoto binds 37 industrialized countries to limit greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below their 1990 levels by 2008-12. It sets no target for developing countries.

To entice the United States, which is being overtaken by China as the world's top greenhouse gas emitter, the United Nations has to engage developing countries.

De Boer said that was only possible by safeguarding their economic growth and cutting ambitious climate policy costs.

One way to attract developing countries is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows an industrialized country to boost its own emission quota if it invests in clean energy technology in a developing economy.

U.N. talks have been split on whether the CDM should include coal power plants with the ability to store carbon dioxide.

"That debate is still going on, but my personal view is that for coal-based economies, like China and India, carbon capture and storage would be critical," de Boer said. "And I believe that there are safe ways of storing CO2 underground, like for example storing it in empty gas fields."

De Boer said the talks scheduled for December in the western Polish city of Poznan involving environment ministers of the 192 U.N. member states could pave the way for a deal in Copenhagen to replace Kyoto, despite widespread skepticism.

(Editing by Gareth Jones and Charles Dick)

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Best of our wild blogs: 26 Sep 08

Seagrass monitoring at Tuas
on the teamseagrass blog

Common fruit bat
on the urban forest blog

Oriental Pratincole: Adult and juvenile
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog

Memories of Priscilla the Pig of Chek Jawa
on the wild shores of singapore blog

The Friday Starfish Sing Along!
on the The Echinoblog

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NParks helps Vietnam develop urban tree systems

Singapore firm helps Da Nang with urban tree planting
VietNamNet Bridge 26 Sep 08;

Central Da Nang City has announced that Singapore’s National Parks Company will lend its expertise to a planning scheme to develop urban tree systems in the city.

At a recent working session with National Parks representatives, Da Nang authorities entrusted the company with designing a pilot project to plant trees along extended sections of Nguyen Van Linh Street and around the March 29 Square.

The pilot project will also replace a number of trees on two roads running along the Han River, as well as in a number of city parks.

National Parks has pledged to assist Da Nang City in the training of planners and the selection of species of trees proven to be suitable to the city’s soil as well as transfer its tree care techniques to local workers.

The Singaporean company expects to submit detailed planning to the Da Nang People’s Committee for approval in October.

Da Nang’s green-space currently stands at 2.2 sq.m per capita, much lower than the criteria set for an environmentally-friendly city, which requires an average green-space of 4-5 sq.m per person.

Natural disasters and the local residents’ poor sense of protecting trees are blamed for the rapid decrease in the number of trees in the city’s downtown area.

National Parks is a prestigious company operating in an urban ecological area. It has successfully designed a number of parks in China, the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East.

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Go car-free during F1 season

Letter from Micheal Chiam, Today Online 26 Sep 08;

MONDAY was Car-Free Day in Seoul, during which vehicles were restricted to certain roads only, and residents of the city enjoyed photo exhibitions and other recreational activities.

This weekend, Singapore, in its push to be a global city, will be hosting the inaugural Formula 1 night street race.

The event is an opportunity for the F1 organisers to promote Car-Free Day here.

They can restrict cars on roads like Nicoll Highway to prevent jams before and during the race days. Sponsored public transport can ferry commuters on these car-free roads.

Perhaps the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources could endorse this campaign, calling on Singaporeans to abandon their cars for the duration of the F1 as a gesture of concern for the environment.

This will add to the intangible benefits of showing off our country to the millions of television viewers around the world.

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How a green town can make money: SM Goh

Senior Minister Goh sees eco-city as financial, R&D and training hub
Lin Yanqin, Today Online 26 Sep 08;

BEFORE the first spade goes into the ground at the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city,Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong already has his eye on the economic growth to come from the environmentally-friendly development.

In Tianjin for Sunday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Mr Goh, who first mooted the idea of an Eco-city to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao 17 months ago, made some suggestions to Tianjin party secretary Zhang Gaoli yesterday about the city’s future.

“I think both sides should begin to think about the kind of economic activities we want in Eco-city,” said Mr Goh, who was visiting Tianjin for the first time.

“The Eco-city is not just meant to be a very pleasant residential township, it must have economic activity.”

For one, the Eco-city, suggestedMr Goh, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, could be a “sub-regional financial hub” for north-east China. “This is something that will in turn drive other activities in Tianjin,” saidMr Goh.

Also, Tianjin could be used for training people in skills “for new jobs which are not there yet”, said Mr Goh.

“This will require research and development as to the kind of industries China will want to go into in the future,” he added.

Finally, research and development into environmental technology — like waste-water recycling — would be a “natural focus” for the Eco-city.

This will require attracting talent into the city.

These suggestions, said Mr Goh, along with the “three harmonies” — people-people, people-environment, people-economy — could help Tianjin Eco-city stand out amongst the other Eco-cities “mushrooming” around China.

Mr Zhang, who was meeting Mr Goh for the first time, welcomed these suggestions.

Making Tianjin a financial centre was in line with the Chinese government’svision for the city, which will require financial planning and reform.

With the economy currently in turmoil, carrying out such changes would be complicated, he said.

Mr Goh emphasised the importance of ensuring that leadership change would not affect the long-term development of Eco-city.

He said while it was natural over time for there to be disagreements between Singapore and Tianjin, they should not drag the whole project down.

In response, Mr Zhang gestured at the other Chinese officials present in the room and said the future leadership was already here, drawing chuckles.

Earlier in the day in Beijing, Mr Goh also called on Central Organisation Department Minister Li Yuanchao and State Councillor Liu Yandong — two of China’s “sixth generation” leaders, and met with the Beijing Olympics organising committee.

Tianjin eco-city could be a financial hub: SM Goh
He will officiate at the ground-breaking ceremony for the 50b yuan project
Chew Xiang, Business Times 26 Sep 08;

THE Tianjin eco-city project developed by a Sino-Singapore joint venture could become a financial hub for China's north-east region, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong suggested yesterday at a meeting with Tianjin Party secretary Zhang Gaoli and mayor Huang Xingguo.

'That will in turn drive other economic activities in the eco-city,' Mr Goh said.

The Senior Minister is in China on a five-day working visit. He will officiate at the ground-breaking ceremony for the 50 billion yuan (S$10.4 billion) Tianjin eco-city project on Sunday.

Mr Goh, who is also chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said that the possibility of a financial hub may have to be considered in detail by the joint working committees.

At the hour-long meeting, the first between the two, Mr Zhang said he 'fully agreed' with the suggestion and added that the city has applied to host China's first over-the-counter market. The OTC market will allow smaller firms to raise capital from investors without going to the main bourses in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, which have more onerous listing requirements.

A financial hub in Tianjin would fit in with Chinese government plans to make the Bohai area an economic centre, after Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas, Mr Zhang said.

Yesterday, Mr Goh also made two other suggestions for industries in the eco-city - skills training and research, and development of environmental technology.

He said that the eco-city could be a centre for institutes that train workers in the kind of skills needed in the future. 'We are not trying old skills, but new skills. This requires research and development as to the kind of industries that China will go into in the future,' he said.

He noted that there are plans for many other eco-cities in China, including at Tangshan, which was a candidate with Tianjin as a location for the Sino-Singapore eco-city project.

'We have to look for ways to make Tianjin's stand out. It must do things which other eco-cities will want to copy. But Tianjin is not selfish. We have to share the knowledge with other parts of China.' Mr Goh said.

Yesterday, he also called on up-and-coming Chinese leaders in Beijing, saying he went there en-route to Tianjin to 'meet old friends and make new friends'.

In the morning, he met Central Organisation Department Minister Li Yuanchao, who characterised himself as an 'old friend' of the Senior Minister. Mr Li, who was previously Communist Party secretary of Jiangsu province, worked closely with Singapore on the Suzhou Industrial Park project.

Mr Goh also met Liu Yandong, the only female member of the Chinese Politburo.

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Singapore's first 'clean coal' power plant to be built

Tuas Power to build $2b 'clean' plant
It will be first here to run on clean coal and biomass
Clarissa Oon, Straits Times 26 Sep 08;

TUAS Power, the third-largest power generator here, plans to build a $2 billion steam and electricity production plant.

It will be the first plant here to run on clean coal and biomass, ensuring the efficient and non-polluting use of coal to power industries on Jurong Island.

Given the nod by the National Environment Agency, construction of the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex will start soon, Tuas Power said yesterday.

The company believes if the plant proves successful, it could pave the way for greater use here of clean coal combined with other fuel sources.

Hastening this change: soaring global oil and gas prices.

Tuas Power said the new complex will start operating in 2011, to supply steam, chilled water and electricity, and treat industrial waste for up to 10 petrochemical companies on Jurong Island.

The plant will be powered by 80 per cent low-ash, low-sulphur coal and 20 per cent biomass, which is waste woodchips and palm kernel shells. Coal is the world's most abundant fuel but is controversial for its high carbon emissions.

Tuas Power plans to keep emission levels down with the latest biomass and clean coal boiler technology from Japan. Biomass is a renewable, zero-emissions energy source.

'Overall, we are able to produce one unit of energy at a more competitive cost,' said Tuas Power president and CEO Lim Kong Puay.

It will translate into cost savings of about 10 per cent of a factory's utilities bill compared to energy generated by a gas-fired plant, he told The Straits Times.

With the plant, clean coal will contribute 15 per cent to Tuas Power's revenue by 2012. It is now wholly reliant on gas.

'The approach we are taking is to incorporate very efficient energy processes and renewable biomass to minimise the impact on the environment,' said Mr Lim.

Its diversification into other fuel sources was welcomed by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), which said in a statement yesterday the move would 'serve as a hedge against rising oil prices'.

Currently, about 80 per cent of Singapore's electricity is generated from natural gas, the cleanest available fossil fuel, and the rest from oil.

However, the EMA stressed the Government is not about to allow the use of coal for power generation 'solely or on a large scale' any time soon.

This stems from its decision two years ago to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and build an LNG terminal, to diversify Singapore's sources of natural gas.

'We will not allow any entry of coal to adversely affect and jeopardise the viability of the LNG project,' it said.

Apart from moving into new fuel sources, Tuas Power is the first of the big three power-generating companies (gencos) to offer utilities beyond just electricity. These multi-utilities would include steam or chilled water power.

Tuas Power is expanding beyond its core business of electricity production after being acquired earlier this year by China Huaneng, China's largest coal-fuelled power producer.

Last week, the Singapore genco won a contract to supply multi-utilities to Finnish company Neste Oil Corp's $1.2 billion plant which produces renewable diesel.

Mr Lim believes his company has the 'core skills' to go into multi-utilities as 'the production of electricity involves the production of steam as well as very high-grade water for boilers'.

The integrated supply of different utilities to clients is expected to contribute about 30 per cent of Tuas Power's total revenue by 2012.

clare@sph.com.sg

Green features

# No exposure of coal to the environment: Coal from neighbouring countries is transported in covered barges, unloaded through fully enclosed conveyors and stored in covered silos.

# Biomass clean coal boilers: This technology allows combustion to take place at lower temperatures, keeping emissions to a minimum.

# Total carbon emissions are around 400g per kilowatt of power, which is lower than the 700g per kilowatt emitted by an oil-fired power plant.

# Filters have been installed to ensure particulate matter emitted meets National Environment Agency requirements. Ash generated will be reused in the plant.

# High-energy efficiency: 70 per cent of energy fed into the plant can be turned into useful energy in the form of steam and electricity. This is comparable to the 40 to 50 per cent efficiency of steam or gas-fired power plants.

Greener fuel for Jurong Island
Today Online 26 Sep 08;

High oil prices are pushing Singapore power suppliers to embrace more efficient energy generation technologies, in order to help industries cut costs.

Tuas Power, for one, is investing $2 billion to build a state-of-the-art complex on Jurong Island featuring three different plants, which will provide cogeneration, desalination and waste water treatment to corporate clients located there.

The Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex will be the first such facility in Singapore to use biomass and clean coal technology.

The biomass burnt will be comprise mostly waste woodchips and palm kernel shells, which will be sourced both locally and from neighbouring countries.

Tuas Power said this will make energy cheaper by as much as 10 per cent for petrochemical firms on Jurong Island.

Mr Lim Kong Puay, chief executive of Tuas Power, said: “The efficient use of the cogeneration technology coupled with biomass and clean coalallows us to achieve savings, and this saving will be passed on to our industrial consumers.”

The new technology uses 20 per cent biomass and 80 per cent coal to produce steam and electricity.

As a result, system efficiency can reach as high as 70 per cent, 30 per cent more than an oil-powered plant.

Some residual energy will also be produced, half of which will be channelled back into the plant for internal consumption, while the rest will be exported to the national grid.

It is also expected to reduce carbon emissions by roughly20 per cent compared to a coal-fired plant.

Mr Lim said: “By providing centralised multi-utility services, we are able to offer competitive solutions, and this provides an attraction for investors to Jurong Island.”

Construction for the complex will start next year and it is expected to start operations by 2011.

Currently, Tuas Power has a market share of 24 per cent of the power generation market in Singapore.

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Biggest solar set-up in Singapore ready next year

NORWEGIAN firm Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) has yet to start operations at its Singapore plant, but some of its solar modules have already been earmarked for roofs here.

Its modules will be used in Singapore's largest solar installation - spanning 2,780 sq m - commissioned by Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Lonza Biologics.

Lonza awarded the million-dollar contract to Singapore-based Phoenix Solar yesterday at the inaugural Norway-Singapore energy conference.

Phoenix Solar, a unit of Germany's Phoenix Solar, will install a 181 kwp (kilowatt peak) solar system on Lonza's $480 million Tuas facility, which is due for completion next June.

The solar installation system will eventually supply about 4 per cent of the plant's energy needs.

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Tuas solar plant to begin output in 2010
Chia Yan Min, Straits Times 19 Jun 08;

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13 more chikungunya cases in Singapore

Straits Times 26 Sep 08;

ANOTHER 13 cases of chikungunya have surfaced over the past week.

Six were imported cases, most likely from Johor. Another six were linked to existing clusters.

The last, a 55-year-old businessman living at St Martin's Drive, has not travelled recently.

National Environment Agency (NEA) officers have combed the area but have not found any mosquito-breeding sites.

The NEA hopes to prevent the disease from becoming endemic here, in the way dengue has.

But with over 120 locally transmitted cases out of 231 known cases this year, this may not be possible, especially since the disease is already endemic in neighbouring countries.

The vast majority of imported cases comes from nearby Johor.

As for local transmissions, cases have been found in 25 areas here.

Like dengue, chikungunya is spread by the Aedes mosquito. Symptoms too are similar and include fever, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, muscle ache, rash and joint pain.

A joint statement from the Health Ministry and the NEA appealed to the public to help eradicate mosquito breeding to keep the disease in check.

SALMA KHALIK

Another 13 cases, with 6 imported
Alicia Wong, Today Online 26 Sep 08;

IT WAS yet another update in a series, with the Health Ministry having released fresh statistics at least once a week since August, and this frequency is almost startling, considering the sporadic news on chikungunya earlier this year.

In yesterday’s statement, the MOH said another 13 people had come down with chikungunya fever since Sept 17. This time, six of the cases were imported — three Singapore residents and three Malaysians had travelled to affected areas in Johor.

The first case of local chikungunya transmission was reported in January. Nearly five months had followed before the next major development broke: The discovery of a cluster at Teacher’s Estate in June.

The next round of cases surfaced in August, and since then, new cases or clusters have been reported just about every week.

Asked if the disease has taken root in Singapore, the MOH said “it is still too early to conclude that chikungunya fever is already endemic here”.

“Imported cases may still be the major factor leading to local transmission,” a spokesperson said.

The Johor outbreak, which began only a few months ago, has had “a major impact in Singapore” with most imported cases being people who had been in Johor shortly before falling ill.

The spokesperson added that the risk is “high given the huge volume of people moving between Johor and Singapore every day”.

Early this month, Malaysia had 1,703 notified cases of chikungunya fever, according to Bernama. Johor registered 996 cases.

As of Wednesday, Singapore had recorded 231 notified chikungunya cases, of which 108 were imported. Eighty-seven cases involved people who had travelled to Johor, while 12 had been to other Malaysian states. Others travelled to Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Maldives.

Locally transmitted cases numbered 123 across 25 work or residential locations. Six of the seven new local transmissions last week were linked to existing clusters at Lim Chu Kang, Sungei Kadut, Bah Soon Pah Road and Mandai Estate.

One isolated case was the infection of a 55-year-oldbusinessman who stays atSt Martin’s Drive and has no recent history of overseas travel. He developed symptoms on Sept 16 and recovered after outpatient treatment.

The National Environment Agency is carrying out vector control operations at the infected people’s residences, as well as their work places and areas they frequent. No mosquito breeding has been found so far at the St Martin’s Drive area.

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Singapore on track to complete Changi race circuit

Ilsa Chan, ChannelnewsAsia 25 Sep 08;

SINGAPORE: Singapore is on track to complete its first permanent race circuit in Changi by 2011.

Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said this on Thursday.

While Mr Teo did not reveal the number of interested tenderers, he said the government is in talks with several parties and is exploring the different possibilities of developing the facility which will be fully funded by the private sector.

He said: "We are committed to wanting to develop a race track. We are open to different ideas which are coming forward because for the government side, we want to make it successful, and it must be a win-win partnership between the consortium that ultimately wins it and operates it, and the government as well."

"We are also assessing what needs to be done in that race track. It is a seafront race track, so we must maximise that piece of land there, not just as a race track but possibly an area where tourists will come, locals will go there and everybody would look at it as more than just for car races, but it is a family outing area as well," added Mr Teo.

The race track, which will be built on a 20-hectare plot, is likely to stretch between 2.8km and 3.5km, short compared to the Singapore Grand Prix circuit of 5.067km.

"That piece of land there is quite vast, but there are other needs for that piece of land, so I would say there is no confirmation or final (decision) on size and all that, we will talk to the different parties and decide later," said Mr Teo.

The Changi race track will be capable of hosting major motorsports events, except for F1 races, which need Grade 1 circuits, and include facilities such as a racing and driver training school, and a pit building and grandstand.

Hafiz Koh, a Singapore pro race driver, said: "It's definitely a good training ground for drivers to move forward if you have a track and you could start earlier but for GP drivers like myself, who drive GP cars, we still need to travel a lot and test different tracks. The only way you can learn is to drive different cars on different tracks."

- CNA/il

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