Blog 07 - Incentives and Negotiations

As in all countries, there are a few areas in Singapore that add value for the public, but do not directly make money. For example, the Botanic Gardens is a beautiful green space for the public that is also a tourist attraction and is free of charge. Likewise, the National Museum of Singapore provides engaging exhibitions for the locals and tourists and has free admission. Another instance is Haw Par Villa as it is a theme park showcasing traditional Chinese myths and is thus a cultural piece of Singapore that is free of charge. 

An area that required a lot of public/private negotiation in Singapore was the reallocation of one of the Singapore Island Country Club's two 18-hole golf courses to the government for public use once the club's lease expires in 2021. This is because the Keppel Club and Marina Bay Golf Course  - two public golf courses - will not have their leases extended as the government wants to repurpose the land for housing development. Members of SICC were unhappy with this agreement having become members because of the advantage of two courses, but to compensate for this, SICC's golf course was offered a new lease until 2030 with the condition that they work with the labour movement on how to reconfigure the courses, and extending their lease was obviously something that the club desired. 

Another example of an ongoing negotiation between the government and private enterprises is the debate on the extension of The Arcadia's 99-year lease. As one of the oldest complexes in Singapore, the condo is approaching the end of its lease. Therefore, The Arcadia's management committee appealed to the Singapore Land Authorities to top up the lease after gaining 100% consent from residents, but this was rejected by the SLA. However, residents are continuing to appeal for an extension.  

Some avenues for potential research topics would be researching how the government determines what is a fair compensation for seizing control of private enterprises and whether private enterprises generally find this compensation to be just. Other topics could include researching instances where after negotiating, the government has ended up with an urban development that was worse than before it intervened. I was also wondering whether the rigidity of the urban planning in Singapore was a deterrent to private enterprises to build in Singapore.