Singapore, 28 September 2021 – The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has awarded the tender for seven sites at the rooftops of Housing & Development Board (HDB) multi-storey carparks (MSCP) for urban farming.
The tender was launched on 23 Feb 2021 and closed on 23 Mar 2021. The sites were tendered using the Price-Quality tender method, where both bid price and quality attributes (production output, design & site layout, and business/marketing plan) were factored into the tender evaluation. One single site, and three cluster sites comprising two sites each, were awarded to three tenderers.
“We are pleased to be awarding another round of HDB MSCP rooftop sites for urban farming. Technological innovations, including hydroponic and vertical farming systems with a variety of innovative elements, such as IoT and automated climate control, are key features of the successful tenderers’ proposals. We can potentially expect an annual production of about 680 tonnes of vegetables collectively from these sites,” said Lim Kok Thai, CEO of SFA.
“Given Singapore’s limited land and space, the use of alternative spaces for urban farming will bring food production closer to the community. The current pandemic has also brought to the forefront the importance of local production in ensuring a steady supply of food. Now more than ever, our local farms must leverage technology to grow more with less. We look forward to seeing these MSCP rooftop sites transform into productive vegetable farms that will boost our local food production and strengthen Singapore’s food security,” Lim concluded.
Availing more spaces for commercial farming, such as MSCP rooftops, is one of SFA’s strategies that is in line with the ‘30 by 30’ target. Commenting on HDB’s involvement in the initiative, Mike Chan Hein Wah, HDB’s Deputy CEO (Estate), said, “This initiative also helps to intensify greening in HDB estates, which is in line with HDB’s Green Towns Programme, a key initiative under the SG Green Plan to build a greener Singapore. HDB will continue to look for opportunities to inject more greenery in our housing estates and provide a better living environment for residents.”
– Construction+ Online
Source: HDB
