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| | | | | | | HDB has notified 262 shop tenants that their shops are involved in the Second Batch of Restructuring Programme for Shops, or RPS.
The shops are located in 23 blocks at 9 sites in Beach Road, Bedok Reservoir Road, Boon Lay Drive, Eunos Crescent, Henderson Crescent, Owen Road/Cambridge Road, Toa Payoh Lorong 1, Upper Aljunied Lane and Yishun Street 61.
The shop tenants have three months to decide if they want to quit or remain in business.
If more than 50 percent of the tenants in a block opt to quit, all tenants in that block will be cleared.
Those who wish to quit from business will receive an ex-gratia payment of $60,000 if they are eligible.
Tenants who wish to continue their business will be offered vacant premises in other blocks where possible, plus a removal allowance of $10,000.
The excess shop space will be converted into void deck space or other social-communal uses.
If 50 percent or less of the tenants in the block opt to quit, all tenants will stay and no shops in the block will be cleared.
To facilitate the implementation of the RPS, a local RPS Working Committee will be formed for each of the nine sites.
The Committee will comprise grassroots leaders, representatives from the shop tenants and officers from HDB.
It will explain the objectives and procedures of the RPS to the shop tenants and gather their feedback.
It will also advise the remaining tenants on retail promotion plans to improve and upgrade their businesses.
The RPS was first announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in March 2005.
The objective of the RPS is to help tenants of HDB shops located in areas with an over-supply of shops and where business was poor, to retire from business or to restructure and upgrade their business operations.
The pilot project was implemented in June last year.
Seven sites with 193 shops in 21 blocks were selected in the pilot RPS.
Eight blocks had more than half the tenants who opted to quit and 93 shops, or 48 percent, out of the 193 shops were cleared.
In March this year, then-Minister of State for National Development Heng Chee How announced that the RPS will be extended to all HDB rental shops. - CNA/ch |
