Government calls allegations of profiteering against Surbana Jurong 'false and malicious'

THE government on Wednesday described as "false and malicious" the allegations about Subana Jurong (SJ) profiteering and being corrupt in relation to the development of a community-care facility (CCF) at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre in Changi.

A joint statement by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of National Development (MND) said that the government had asked Temasek to help at short notice, because the state investment arm "had the necessary resources, to be marshalled, at short notice, through its subsidiaries". 

Temasek had agreed to help, with its work and that done by its linked companies pegged to a basis of cost recovery, and, in some cases, at below cost.  

The ministries' joint statement came in response to social media posts which had accused SJ of profiteering and corruption in its involvement in converting the Singapore Expo venue into the CCF.

The purpose of the CCF is to isolate Covid-19 patients with mild or no symptoms until their infectious stage has passed. The facility also houses recovering patients who have been discharged from hospital.

Temasek identified the Singapore Expo as a suitable venue for the CCF, and asked Temasek-owned SJ to convert the Expo into Singapore's first large-scale CCF. It also asked other companies, including PSA International, the overall project co-ordinator, and Singapore Technologies Engineering and Sheares Healthcare to help. 

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External vendors such as Parkway Pantai, Resorts World Sentosa and Certis Cisco also played a crucial role in the development of the CCF.

MOH had worked with Temasek and the other entities on the healthcare requirements and needs for the CCF site. Once these were confirmed, MND liaised with the entities on the payments for the development of the facility, as the ministry has also been liaising with other parties to pay for the provision of other facilities, such as the dedicated Stay-Home Notice facilities.

The ministries' joint statement said: "For all the work done by Temasek, it did not charge any management fees, and has only invoiced MND for expenses paid to third parties. Temasek also confirmed that its linked companies, including SJ, will only charge for direct expenditure, at cost. Some aspects were charged at below normal cost. For example, Temasek told the government that SingEx Venues Pte Ltd, which manages the Singapore Expo, will not charge the full capex cost, since the Expo was not being used for normal business anyway."

It added that neither the Manpower ministry nor minister was involved in the selection of SJ or other parties for the development of the CCF. They were also not involved in the process of managing the costs of the project.

SJ had worked with the other partners to complete the development of the CCF in "a very short time". "It was able to leverage its sourcing processes to obtain construction and other needed materials on an urgent basis. Despite the tight timelines and extensive work required, SJ provided its expertise to develop the Singapore Expo CCF at cost, without any profit or management fee," the statement said.

"The government accepts that legitimate questions can be raised about the spending, and is fully prepared to explain why and how money was spent. However, the government will respond firmly and appropriately to any scurrilous allegation of corruption."