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  Channel NewsAsia 11 Aug 06
Garden City spruced up for IMF/World Bank meetings
By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Singapore is already known as the Garden City, but it is adding about 100,000 new plants to the landscape in preparation for September's IMF/World Bank conference.

Frangipani trees, fox palms and a sea of heliconias - these are just some of the plants that have sprouted in the past four months around Suntec city, the Central Business District and Orchard Road. They can be found either along road dividers or at the side of the roads, and they come in various shapes and sizes as well as colours.

NParks says this is the result of its efforts to enhance the landscape in areas where delegates of the meetings are likely to converge. It also hopes to showcase some of Singapore's tropical plants and flowers to the world.

Said Simon John Longman, director (Streetscape), NParks, "We have ... this lush landscape and this gives a very tropical experience. And it is particularly pleasant for some of the delegates that are not from the tropics to see this greater variety of plants."

Most of the plants chosen are hardy, ones that can withstand harsh conditions and require little maintenance. More flowering plants were also picked to inject more colour into the streetscape.

One of the new species introduced into Singapore's landscape is the aptly named "Flaming Beauty". Originally from Madagascar, it is also grown in sub-tropical countries like the Philippines. It was chosen to be grown here because of its colour, foliage as well as its ability to grow well in partial shade. Work on enhancing the landscape is expected to be completed by September 11. - CNA /ct

The Straits Times 12 Aug 06
Islandwide makeoverfor IMF meetings
by David Boey

PARKS, roads and bridges around Singapore are being spruced up in a major spring-cleaning effort ahead of the biggest conference to be held in Singapore.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank conferences, at Suntec City in mid-September, will attract more than 16,000 delegates, including top guns in banking and finance.

Greeting them will be a city centre gone green. More than 100,000 trees and shrubs of 70 varieties will be planted to give the city centre a lush green look that befits Singapore's Garden City image, said Mr Simon Longman, the NParks Streetscape director.

'The National Parks Board has in place a programme to enhance our roadside greenery and to inject more colour to the streetscape,' Mr Longman told The Straits Times yesterday .

NParks has been 'sprucing up key roads, including those in the city, since mid-July', he added. The board's plant specialists have paid special attention to the type, variety and visual appeal of the plants greening the landscape.

'Some of these plants such as the Foxtail palm are chosen for their qualities such as drought tolerance, low maintenance, and because they are fast growing and adaptable,' he said.

Special attention has been paid to the scenery near Suntec City - which has been marred by construction work on the Circle Line MRT in recent years.

Mr Longman said NParks worked with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to 'reinstate landscapes affected by works'.

The solution: picking 'hardy plants which can survive planting stress' and foliage which 'can provide quick green cover for the Suntec area'. 'To inject more colour to the streetscape, we have used some flowering and colourful foliage plants,' Mr Longman explained. Work will be wound up in the next two weeks before the mammoth conference begins.

As for roadworks, the LTA said it will repave 823 lane km of roads - the distance from Singapore to southern Thailand - on 108 roads and expressways. A lane kilometre is a continuous lane of road that conveys traffic in one direction. The roadworks include daubing protective coats on flyovers to give them a new look.

An LTA spokesman said 'regular scheduled works' have been brought forward 'so the land transport infrastructure is spruced up for the public and the IMF delegates to appreciate'.
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