Singapore - The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is working on a Sports Facilities Master Plan to upgrade older community sports facilities, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.

The latest project in the plan is the Bedok Sports and Recreation Centre and Kampong Chai Chee Community Club, which will see an integration of a new community club, swimming complex, sports hall and gymnasium within the town centre.

The Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports was responding to written questions about the upgrading of sports facilities raised in Parliament yesterday.

He mentioned that the upgrading of older community sports facilities is needed "to meet the changing needs of Singaporeans", and the plan will come up with "strategies and plans to optimise the entire landscape of sports and recreational facilities".

"The aim is to provide affordable facilities to better serve the community, training centres for our elite athletes to help them win medals for Singapore and to help develop the sports industry", said Dr Balakrishnan.

The Minister also said that integrated sports and community facilities, like in Sengkang-Anchorvale and Bukit Panjang-Senja-Cashew, are more popular among the public, as compared to older facilities.

He pointed out that the utilisation rate for Sengkang Swimming Complex is 75% higher than other swimming complexes.

This increase in utilisation could be due to greater convenience, as residents can register for both sports and community activities through the single booking counter such as at the Bukit Panjang-Senja-Cashew integrated sports and community facility.

The Sports Facilities Master Plan will explore further collaboration opportunities with other community facilities to provide a one-stop integrated lifestyle centre and it will be consulted with SSC's stakeholders in the coming months.