Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Judiciary today launched a LinkedIn page with the aim of fostering professional understanding and enhancing transparency with regard to its work, both locally and internationally.

On the platform, the Judiciary will share updates on significant court judgments, major professional exchanges with other jurisdictions, key events, and important initiatives.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says her recent Saudi Arabia visit was fruitful and she is planning more duty visits for next year to promote Hong Kong’s business, trade and professional services.

Speaking to the media before today’s Executive Council meeting, she said she has conducted all of her visits abroad for this year.

She will conduct a duty visit to Beijing later this month.

Mrs Lam added she was warmly welcomed to Saudi Arabia and met King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and several officials.

She said she attaches great importance to Hong Kong’s external affairs, and conducting overseas visits can enhance the city’s international status and expand business opportunities.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Chief Executive Carrie Lam respects an arrangement by the Legislative Council President to amend LegCo’s Rules of Procedure.

Making the statement to the media before today’s Executive Council meeting, she said Andrew Leung’s decision is reasonable.

Mr Leung decided all proposals from different camps will be combined into a single debate to finalise rule changes before Christmas.

Mrs Lam said she appreciates that he took a well-balanced approach to accept amendments by the pro-democracy camp, while formulating the arrangement based on Basic Law Article 75.

“We hope that things in the Legislative Council will be brought back to normal as soon as possible,” she said.

Mrs Lam urged legislators to respect Mr Leung’s decision.

When asked about the timing of the upcoming March 11 LegCo by-election, Mrs Lam said the Electoral Affairs Commission’s decision has already been gazetted.

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

Source: Assainir, relancer et développer ensemble : les orientations du 18e gouvernement

The Task Force on Land Supply will study public feedback on whether to use fringe areas of country parks as a land supply option.

The task force discussed the issue at its fifth meeting today.

Chairman Stanley Wong said the task force noted country parks are invaluable assets of Hong Kong and any development must be done with caution.

“We had about 13 million visitors frequenting the various country parks, the 24 different country parks in Hong Kong, conducting a variety of different activities

“Other than the statutory process that we have to overcome in terms of environmental impact assessment, in terms of going through the Country & Marine Parks Board as well as going through the land use amendments at the Town Planning Board, we do believe that there is a certain threshold that we must uphold before we can proceed to consider utilising the fringe of the country parks.

“And this will include considering whether there are better alternatives in terms of using that particular piece of country park and at the same time is there any mitigation or compensation that we can do in terms of the impact on the ecology.

“So with these in mind, we will leave it to the public engagement and see how the community will perhaps support, or otherwise, conducting further studies if we are going to move this particular option forward,” Mr Wong added.

Source: Cleaner Neighbourhoods With Stepped-Up Efforts In The Year Of Public Hygiene

Agencies will assess site suitability for a funeral services and columbarium complex.

Singapore, 6 March 2025 – The Government has identified a site at Tanah Merah Coast Road as another possible site to be studied for the potential development of a new funeral services and columbarium complex (FSCC). This is in addition to the Mandai Avenue site that is currently under study.

2          The site at Tanah Merah Coast Road [1] was identified following consultations with other agencies on factors such as readiness for development and traffic impact. NEA is working with these agencies to further assess the suitability of the newly identified site and conduct a technical feasibility study.

3          Environmental studies on the suitability of the site at Mandai Avenue to be developed as an FSCC are ongoing.

4          A decision on the location of the FSCC will be made after considering the outcome of the studies on the Mandai Avenue and Tanah Merah Coast Road sites.

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Source:

Singapore, 4 March 2025 – Public hygiene forms the foundation of our well-being. The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) designated 2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene to strengthen our sense of collective responsibility to one another, and for everyone to play a part in upkeeping good public hygiene practices. Accordingly, the National Environment Agency (NEA) stepped up efforts to improve public health outcomes in five key areas, namely:

a) Tackling cleanliness hotspots;

b) Tackling unhygienic public toilets;

c) Enhancing vector control;

d) Enhancing industry capability and leveraging technology; and

e) Rallying the community.

2            The year-long effort included adopting greater use of technology such as CCTVs to improve our surveillance and enforcement capabilities for littering and rat-related issues, expanding Project Wolbachia to reduce risk of dengue transmission, and adopting technologies to enhance cleaning operations. Enforcement for littering, rat-related lapses and public toilet offences were also intensified. The Public Toilets Taskforce also studied and recommended solutions to bring about cleaner public toilets.

3            More public hygiene activities were organised, and more residents stepped up to take ownership of their estates’ cleanliness. We will build on this momentum and work with the community to keep Singapore clean for SG60 and beyond.

Tackling cleanliness hotspots: 36 per cent reduction of litter count at hotspots

4          While the community is generally civic-minded, littering remains a concern due to the inconsiderate actions of some. In 2024, NEA conducted about 130 enforcement blitzes at littering and smoking hotspots compared to 21 blitzes in 2023. NEA also strengthened its camera surveillance capabilities and scaled capacity to conduct up to 1,000 CCTV deployments a year, compared to 250 in 2023. At hotspots, NEA strengthened enforcement presence to increase deterrence with visible patrols, standees and CCTVs [1] . NEA also partnered community stakeholders to seek their assistance in identifying egregious offenders captured by the CCTV footage.

5          A 36 per cent reduction in litter count has  been observed at hotspots between May and December 2024 [2]. Four hotspots – Causeway Point, Chinatown Complex, Jurong Point and Vista Point – are on track to exit from the littering hotspot list. A total of about 1,900 fines were issued at hotspots islandwide between May and December 2024. Of these, more than 700 were for littering offences[3]. 30 Corrective Work Sessions were also conducted at these hotspots.

6            NEA will continue to address the littering situation through public education and enforcement. Residents can complement NEA’s efforts by providing feedback, including information on the identities of egregious offenders.

Enhancing vector control: Over 1,000 enforcement actions for rat-related lapses in 2024

7            Reducing the incidence of vector-borne diseases remains a priority. In 2024, NEA focused on upstream rat preventive measures such as promoting and enforcing proper refuse management practices and rectifying structural defects that may allow rats to access food easily.

8          Over 1,000 enforcement actions were jointly taken by NEA and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) against errant premises owners or occupiers, including operators of trade premises, shopping malls, and food establishments. This is almost double the 670 enforcement actions taken in 2023. Nearly half of the enforcements last year were for poor refuse management [4].

9          NEA also successfully trialled the use of thermal cameras for rat surveillance. This complements technological solutions such as passive infrared cameras and borescopes to enhance the monitoring and management of rat activities in Singapore’s urban environment. NEA will continue to work closely with stakeholders to keep the rat situation under control. [5]

Enhancing vector control: Project Wolbachia to benefit 800,000 households by 2026

10          On dengue, community vigilance and innovations like Project Wolbachia have helped us to avoid major surges in dengue cases in 2023 and 2024. The Aedes aegypti population at Project Wolbachia study sites has reduced by 80 to 90 per cent, and the risk of acquiring dengue has lowered by 75 per cent.

11        To reduce the risk of a major dengue outbreak further, NEA will expand Project Wolbachia to benefit more residents. By 2026, the project will reach 800,000 households, or about 50 per cent of all households. NEA expanded Project Wolbachia to Jurong East in February 2025, and Jurong West will soon see releases of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes from April 2025. This year, NEA will trial the use of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes at dengue clusters to supplement traditional control operations [6].

12        The production of Wolbachia-Aedes mosquitoes is currently met by two separate facilities managed by NEA, and Debug by Google [7]. Besides increasing production capacity at existing facilities, we will work with the industry to develop a third facility to supplement the overall capacity.

Enhancing industry capability and leveraging technology: Adoption of technology to enhance cleaning operations

13          NEA is adopting more technology to enhance cleaning operations. For example, NEA is working with service providers to trial and progressively deploy drain sensors, which can send alerts when the drains are filled with leaves, or when the water level is high [8]. Beyond drain sensors, NEA will also deploy four autonomous waterway cleaning machines across Singapore.

14          NEA has also collaborated with the National Parks Board (NParks) to trial the use of artificial intelligence that can help improve operational efficiency, such as by detecting overflowing litter bins and littered public areas. In addition, NEA will commence trials in 2025 on the deployment of autonomous pavement sweepers in selected parks. 

Enhancing industry capability and leveraging technology: $90 million boost for Environmental Services Industry

15         In terms of enhancing industry capability and the use of technology, a $90 million boost for the Environmental Services Industry has been made available – the Environmental Services Productivity Solutions Grant. The grant application period is open till 31 March 2027 [9].

Tackling unhygienic public toilets: About 1,300 enforcement actions taken for public toilet offences

16        The Public Toilets Taskforce was formed last year to study and recommend solutions to make our public toilets cleaner [10]. In 2024, NEA and SFA stepped up inspections on public toilet cleanliness. Close to 19,000 inspections were carried out, with about 1,300 enforcement actions taken against premises owners/managers. We will continue to work with our partners and support ground-up efforts to achieve our goal of cleaner public toilets.

Rallying the community: More residents stepped up to take ownership of their estate cleanliness

17        Community ownership is vital to keeping public spaces clean. Under the Community Auditor Programme, residents at private residential estates are recruited to conduct audits on the performance of our cleaning service providers. The pool of resident volunteers has increased from 20 in 2020 to 169 in 2024, covering 99 private estates [11].

18        NEA is also on track to roll out the Alternate Roadside Parking Programme to 45 private estates by 2026, with 33 private estates on board so far. The programme, which facilitates the deployment of mechanical road sweepers, has resulted in 50 to 80 per cent of time savings compared to manual cleaning with brooms and trash bags [12].

Rallying the community: Over 1,750 community activities with 127,000 participants in the Year of Public Hygiene 

19        Over 1,750 community activities involving 127,000 participants were conducted last year by NEA and the Public Hygiene Council. NEA expanded community activities with various corporate parties, NGOs and volunteer partners to inculcate a greater sense of common ownership of public spaces [13].

20          NEA further rolled out a series of “Behind-The-Scenes” learning journeys as part of Go Green SG and the Clean & Green Singapore Experiences programme, offering the public a closer look at the work of NEA officers conducting ground operations in littering enforcement, refuse management for effective vector control, and public cleaning performance audits. NEA will continue to partner our stakeholders and the community to keep Singapore clean.

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Source:

Singapore, 4 March 2025 – The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) will invest up to $1 billion over the next 20 to 30 years to upgrade existing hawker centres under the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme 2.0 (HUP 2.0) and build another five new hawker centres.

Ongoing Efforts to Upgrade Hawker Centres

2            The Government first built hawker centres in the 1960s to resettle street hawkers. Over the decades, the Government has invested in infrastructural upgrades to ensure that our hawker centres continue to be community dining rooms where Singaporeans can easily access and enjoy affordable food in a clean and hygienic environment.

3            Repairs and Redecoration (R&R) works are regularly carried out by NEA and the Town Councils at each hawker centre every six to eight years, to upkeep and maintain the existing infrastructure. These works typically include repainting, basic repairs and replacement of fixtures and fittings in the centres.  In 2021, learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hawker Centres Transformation Programme (HTP) was piloted at Cheng San Market & Cooked Food Centre and Geylang Serai Market. The HTP aimed to address infrastructural issues beyond the typical R&R works and increase hygiene levels, such as through better seating configuration and fans to enhance ventilation, and toilet refurbishments for greater ease of cleaning and maintenance. We will incorporate lessons learnt from HTP in the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme 2.0 (HUP2.0) [1].

Future Proofing Our Hawker Centres through HUP 2.0

4            Our hawker centres will require future proofing to cope with a warmer climate and an aging population. In particular, older hawker centres in mature estates need to be revitalised to meet the evolving needs of local communities, in tandem with rapid urban redevelopment in Singapore.

5          To ensure our hawker centres continue to serve current and future generations of Singaporeans, the Government will allocate up to $1 billion over the next 20 to 30 years to upgrade hawker centres and build another five new hawker centres. HUP 2.0 [2] will upgrade hawker centre infrastructure to be more vibrant, accessible, and climate-resilient community spaces. Hawkers can also look forward to a more conducive work environment.

Vibrant Community Spaces

6            To make hawker centres a more pleasant space for multi-generational families and the community, NEA will optimise the use of space within hawker centres, such as through better stall configuration and centre layout. NEA will work closely with planning agencies such as HDB and URA to better plan and utilise common spaces so that they can serve the needs of the community more effectively. These spaces could be used for community activities and events which can help draw people to the hawker centres.  

Accessible Hawker Centres for All

7            NEA will also explore more elderly- and mobile-friendly features in hawker centres so that our hawker centres are more inclusive and accessible for all. These could include escalators, lifts, wider aisles, and greater digitalisation and adoption of technology. The features would take into account the demographic needs of the surrounding estate and feasibility of the site. With such features, NEA aims to make hawker centres more accessible to those who require mobility devices or young families with children in prams.

Climate-resilient Infrastructure

8            To adapt to rising temperatures and improve thermal comfort for patrons and stallholders, NEA will explore solutions to improve air circulation and reduce ambient temperatures, such as using high-volume-low-speed (HVLS) fans and greenery. With these efforts, patrons and stallholders can look forward to a more comfortable dining and working experience at hawker centres.

9            While such future-proofing efforts can be implemented in most hawker centres through upgrading or refurbishment works, some older hawker centres in mature estates may need to be rebuilt. MSE and NEA are working closely with the relevant planning agencies to identify such hawker centres to dovetail their redevelopment works with estate development plans and ensure that they continue to serve the needs of surrounding residents and hawkers.

10          To minimise disruptions to the hawkers and the community, the Government will engage hawkers and surrounding residents on the upgrading plans and timelines, and also provide appropriate support to hawkers affected by these plans.

Five additional new hawker centres; Opening of New Hawker Centres at Bukit Batok West and Punggol Coast

11          Since 2011, the Government has built and opened 14 new hawker centres in newer housing estates to ensure that our growing population has access to modern hawker centres with affordable food options. Examples include One Punggol Hawker Centre, Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, Jurong West Hawker Centre and Woodleigh Village Hawker Centre.

12        In 2025, two new hawker centres will open at Bukit Batok West and Punggol Coast [3]. Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre (469 Bukit Batok West Ave 9) will have 22 cooked food stalls and over 400 seats, while Punggol Coast Hawker Centre (84 Punggol Way) will have 40 cooked food stalls and over 680 seats.

13          Complementing HUP 2.0, the Government will build another five new hawker centres to serve residents better. More details will be shared when ready.

$600 rental support for SG60

14        Hawker stallholders are a critical part of Singapore’s treasured hawker culture, which has shaped our national identity and heritage over the years. To recognise the contributions of our hawker stallholders, and in celebration of SG60 and the fifth anniversary of the inscription of Singapore’s Hawker Culture on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a one-off rental support of $600 per stall will be given to cooked food and market stallholders across hawker centres and markets managed by Government and Government-appointed operators, including those managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators. Existing registered stallholders with an active tenancy as of 18 February 2025 will receive the $600 per stall. The $600 rental support will be disbursed progressively from April 2025.

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Source:

JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA, SMF AND SINGPOST

Singapore, 4 March 2025 – The Alliance for Action (AfA) [1] on Packaging Waste Reduction for the E-commerce Sector has published a set of Guidelines on Sustainable E-commerce Packaging. The Guidelines were developed by members of the AfA, comprising 14 companies across the e-commerce supply chain (including marketplaces, retailers and packaging producers), organisations and experts. The AfA was co-led by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and Singapore Post (SingPost) and supported by the National Environment Agency (NEA).

2               The AfA estimates that about 186,000 parcels were delivered in Singapore per day in 2023, generating as much as 15,900 tonnes of mailing packaging in that year alone. E-commerce contributes to packaging waste, which is a key priority waste stream to address under Singapore’s Zero Waste Masterplan. All stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem, including businesses and consumers, have an important role to play in managing packaging materials responsibly.

3               The Guidelines provide a comprehensive list of concrete 3R (Reduce, Re-use, Recycle) solutions tailored to various types of e-commerce packaging, including cardboard boxes, mailers and fillers. For example, the Guidelines lay out seven different “Reduce” solutions for cardboard boxes alone, from simply expanding the range of box sizes available to avoid packing in oversized boxes to switching to lighter alternative packaging. Each solution is augmented with step-by-step actions for businesses to consider and the expected benefits and drawbacks. The Guidelines also benchmark the solutions based on the estimated effort, cost, and environmental impact to allow companies to select the one that best suits their needs.

4               Beyond 3R solutions, the Guidelines provide operating models for e-commerce marketplaces to promote sustainable packaging to consumers and drive awareness and responsibilities among suppliers. Another additional feature of the Guidelines is a scorecard that company leaders can use to assess the maturity of their management practices in relation to sustainable packaging and pinpoint areas for improvement.

5               Based on real-world case studies, companies may uncover opportunities to reduce packaging needs by up to 90 per cent, such as by switching from a corrugated cardboard box to a similar-sized paper mailer. Sealed Air had found that with quicker deliveries, apparel retailers required less protection for their packages and the amount of material used in its plastic and paper mailers could be reduced by 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Watsons Singapore also managed to reduce its use of bubble wrap and reaped packaging cost savings of 5 per cent to 10 per cent, by shredding and repurposing used cardboard boxes into filler material.  

6               The Packaging Partnership Programme, administered by SMF, will be organising workshops to promote the adoption of the guidelines among businesses.

7               The Guidelines on Sustainable E-commerce Packaging can be downloaded from https://go.gov.sg/sustainable-e-commerce-packaging-guidelines

 

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