Senior Minister of State Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Ministry of National Development, Mr Lee Yi Shyan;

Mr Ng Lang, CEO of Urban Redevelopment Authority;

Place Management Coordinating Forum members

Fellow Singapore River One (SRO) members, guests and friends;

Good afternoon!

I receive this award on behalf of my SRO Exco, Board and staff. This award is in recognition of the vision, collective wisdom and hard work of the SRO team. They are the true champions that deserve this prestigious Place Champion Award for 2015.

This award is an indication of the positive strides that SRO has taken since its inception in 2012. Together with my fellow SRO Board members, the SRO Management team, the support of our stakeholders as well as the various Government agencies, we have attained many significant achievements in our short but eventful three years of existence.

Within these three years, SRO has witnessed increase in stakeholder interest and support, reaching out to more than 50% of the precincts’ land area as our members. We have also seen a high degree of involvement by the Singapore River’s stakeholders in supporting and assisting in SRO’s various initiatives. This sense of camaraderie and collective ownership of the River truly represents SRO’s purpose.

SRO also enjoys healthy and close relationships with various government agencies, especially URA. It is appropriate that we acknowledge our appreciation to URA for their guidance, encouragement and partnership throughout this period. They have been great co-workers in our effort to make Singapore River more relevant and vibrant!

While working together with the agencies and the SRO team, there are 4 “M’s” that I would like to point out. They are Management, Maintenance, Marketing, and Maximising our stakeholders’ interests. We also strongly believe in ROE, which means the Return of Experience. If we remain focused on the return of experience, it will ultimately bring in the return of investment or ROI.

We are also definitely concerned about the well-being of our stakeholders which lead us to maintaining a safe and clean environment for the public and businesses.

The SRO team has been able to achieve some significant highlights and I would like to take this opportunity to elaborate on some of these efforts:

1. Boat Quay outdoor refreshment area enhancement
   To address the long-standing issues of unsightliness and safety at establishments along the shophouse waterfronts at Boat Quay, SRO put up a petition to URA to enhance these dining spaces! Through the diligent and collaborative efforts of the management team, SRO successfully garnered majority support from stakeholders for this project! The SRO team went door to door to speak to the owners and business operators and managed to get 70% of them on board with this enhancement project!
   
   With this support, URA will begin to undertake the works early next year and it is estimated to be completed by fourth quarter of 2016. Upon completion, diners and visitors of the area can look forward to a revitalized Boat Quay, with better ambience and public seating.
2. Circular Road pedestrianisation
   SRO first initiated the car free weekends at Circular road which started from November 2013. This initiative was set out to enhance the visitor experience while allowing SRO members to participate in outdoor dining activities. To date, we have achieved an increase in footfall of 45% to circular road to date. Before 2014, Circular Road used to have “sleazy bars” that will deter families from visiting and dining there.
   
   However, through the efforts of managing, maintaining, and marketing, Circular Road is now revitalised and if you have yet to visit the road, do take a stroll down there and you can definitely bring your family along as well!
3. Enhancing the River
   In an effort to increase the overall visitor experience to the Singapore River, SRO is currently also undertaking several key initiatives to enhance the public realm. One of the examples is the activation of the Elgin Bridge underpass near the Boat Quay shop houses with artworks designed by Raffles Design Institute and installation sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. SRO also engaged experts to provide us with better background and understanding of the Singapore rich culture which were put into artworks that displayed various facets of the development of the Singapore River precinct and give visitors a more enriching experience.

Iconic event

Some of you may be familiar with an event known as the WaterFire in Providence, Rhode Island in the USA. For those who are not, this event celebrates 20 years of creative place making in Providence. This is now an internationally known event. SRO has always wanted to have an iconic festival to call our own with a singular air to remind Singaporeans and visitors of the Singapore River’s heritage and its diverse offerings.

This year, SRO will be organizing the SG50 edition of the Singapore River Festival – a three-day event happening from 23^rd to 25^th of October 2015, showcasing Singapore River’s cultural heritage and modern charms. Singapore River Festival is a ground-up initiative under SG50’s Environment & Infrastructure Committee which we hope through this festival, to not only celebrate Singapore’s jubilee year as well as to bring more Singaporeans back to visit Singapore River, to re-connect with the River and invite them to fall in love with the place all over again. Just like the SRO’s tagline – where it all began.

Apart from key events, we are also extremely elated to announce that through key marketing efforts, Singapore River’s visitorship has been increasing steadily since 2012 and we witnessed an average of 1.5 million visitors in 2014, an increase of 16% from 1.28 million visitors in 2013.

There is still much potential that we could develop in the Singapore River precinct. The river should be a place where locals will come frequently, a must visit destination for tourists; and a choice location for investors. To achieve this, we must take a pro-active approach to manage the precinct and remain relevant not just locally but also internationally. We also believe that by participating in the BID, we will be able to come to the table as one and set the agenda right for all our stakeholders.

I would like to take this opportunity to call on more stakeholders to join SRO in realising the vision of a Singapore River that is alive, vibrant and buzzing with business, entertainment and lifestyle activities. A river that is charming and diverse in its offerings.

We look forward to your support as we actively engage the various stakeholders at our Singapore River precinct.

Once again, on behalf of Singapore River One, thank you for the recognition!