THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP MODEL FOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT IN ACHIEVING ESG GOALS

Abstract

Singapore’s landscape is constantly evolving, be it in the social or physical landscape. Among this changing environment, Singapore’s cuisine has played an intangible role in our identity, history and culture and this is best embodied in hawker Centres and the food that can be found within. Globally recognised, hawker culture was added to the 2020 UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (Ng, 2021), and further reiterates the importance that hawkers play in Singapore’s cultural identity. Having fed a country for decades, the transition from pushcarts to formal hawker centres meant that Real Estate now had a role to play in formalizing and creating a physical and controlled space setting for hawkers to ply their trade and continue the feeding of a nation with affordable meals while preserving the intangible values that have been associated with hawker centres. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of turning the real estate of hawker centres into viable asset investments through Public-Private Partnerships to preserve and protect the cultural, heritage and social benefits that have been associated with hawker centres. Through the use of CapitaSpring, SportsHub and Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre as case studies, they each embody a different form of partnership between the government and the private sector, and have varying results. From here, the potential of public-private partnerships in the development and management of urban infrastructure can be realized, when the stakeholders interests are aligned in order to create a mutually beneficial environment for all parties involved.