Over 1,000 Two-Storey Offices Will Be Built For The 2006 Annual Meetings Of The IMF/World Bank Group

Singapore is gearing up for the 2006 IMF-World Bank Group Boards of Governors Annual Meetings, to be held in September next year. The Annual Meetings will attract about 16,000 participants here. One major task for the S2006 Organising Committee is to provide over 1,000 offices as working spaces at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre (SSICEC) for all the visiting delegates.

2. Singapore has decided to employ a creative two-storey office concept based on a Modular Unit System, using pre-fabricated panels and light weight steel structures to construct the offices, and to overcome a common problem of space constraints. This is the first time that a two-storey concept for temporary offices is used within an exhibition space for the Annual Meetings.

3. This method ensures faster turnaround for assembly and dismantling, and enables the offices - about the size of 3 football fields, to fit into Levels 4 and 6 of the centrally-located SSICEC. The method also allows these fully furnished offices to be assembled within one and a half months, and be dismantled in about a week after the Annual Meetings, in time for the next event at SSICEC.

4. Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister of State for Finance and Transport, who is also the Minister overseeing the preparations of S2006, toured four units of the two-storey mock-up offices at the PICO Creative Centre in Kallang today.

5. In September 2006, more than 1,000 fully furnished offices complete with elevators, air-conditioning, sprinklers and sanitary facilities will be erected for the delegates of the Annual Meetings. It is important to ensure that the offices provide a conducive and comfortable place for delegates to work in, as this would facilitate the success of the Annual Meetings. After the Annual Meetings, the temporary offices will be carefully dismantled and re-used for other purposes.

6. "Due to the sheer scale of facilities required for these Annual Meetings, the construction of a large number of offices is common for host countries. However, Singapore is building two-storey offices in an existing exhibition center to overcome the shortage of space and meet the requirements of the Annual Meetings. We will continue to adopt a creative approach for our preparations for Singapore 2006 to provide a memorable experience for all delegates and other visitors," said Goh Chye Boon, S2006 Organising Committee Co-Chairman.

7. With the modular unit system concept and knock-down construction methodology used, the time for each office set up is reduced to two hours using a 10-men crew. The S2006 Organising Committee will take 11 days, with an 80-men team to set up the structures of the over 1,000 offices. The savings in time and manpower will result in lower costs.

8. Once the offices are built, the IT infrastructure will be incorporated to ensure that the offices are well equipped and fully operational to serve the delegates' needs. Singapore2006 partners such as SingTel, Cisco Systems and Oracle have agreed to support the IT and communications infrastructure.

9. The Annual Meetings is the largest and most comprehensive gathering of global financial representatives. Finance Ministers, Governors and government officials from 184 countries will gather here in September 2006 to discuss the course of global economic development and address major financial and developmental challenges facing the world today.

SINGAPORE 2006 ORGANISING COMMITTEE