SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE LAUNCH OF PORSCHE PIT STOP SINGAPORE ON FRIDAY, 14 MARCH 2008, 4.45PM, AT THE SINGAPORE CRICKET CLUB 

Good afternoon. I am pleased to join you today at this Porsche Pit Stop Singapore event. We are celebrating several occasions today. The beginning of the 2008 Porsche motorsports season in Asia, the participation of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia in the 2008 FORMULA ONE SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, Porsche Club Singapore’s 20th anniversary, and the official premier of the new Porsche Cayenne GTS in Singapore.

Building up the F1 excitement

2Indeed, the excitement generated at today’s event is but a prelude to the FORMULA ONE Grand Prix that Singapore will host for the first time come September. Preparations for the race are in full swing. Construction works to prepare our roads are well underway. Modification works to the existing roads, such as the removal of kerbs and traffic islands along the track, are close to completion. The works to widen the Promenade at the National Day Parade seating gallery are also in the advanced stages of completion. The rest of the road works, like road surfacing, the construction of a new track section in front of the pit building, and the construction of a service road and tunnel to the pit building will be scheduled for completion by end May, well in time for the race.

3The pit building is also on track to be ready by the end of June. And this is in spite of us having added a third storey to the pit building in order to provide more Paddock Club facilities. With race promoter Singapore GP and STB working closely together to maximize the seating capacity available for the inaugural F1 race to meet the overwhelming demand, we will now be accommodating more than 90,000 spectators for the race, higher than our earlier estimate of about 80,000.

4Ticket sales have also been brisk since the public launch on 14 February. The bulk of tickets from the first release have been sold and more tickets have just been released for sale. This includes tickets for about 10,000 seats situated at the Padang, in front of iconic historical buildings like the Old Supreme Court and City Hall, the Singapore Recreation Club and Singapore Cricket Club, where we are today.

5STB has also planned a lifestyle season around the race period. Called “Singapore GP Season”, the event will span three weekends in September, and will see this historic district dazzle with festivities. These include the inaugural Singapore River Festival; the Singapore Biennale with installations within the race circuit; and the Singapore Motor show, which will take on an F1 slant this year. Singapore will also play host to the acclaimed FORMULA ONE – The Great Design Race exhibition from London. So, whether you are an F1 fan, a tourist or a local resident, there will be plenty to do and see downtown, and a great party atmosphere to soak in.

Conclusion

6As we can see, with just six months to go to the inaugural F1 race, Singapore is gearing up in more ways than one. The race will put Singapore on the world map of approximately 500 million television viewers, and we must ensure that we put on a good show. I have no doubt that Singapore and Singaporeans will rise to this challenge. Thank you.