Upcoming NS Hub to have shorter queues, greener features
Smart technology, such as facial recognition, at the new one-stop centre for national servicemen should cut queueing time for medical screenings by 30 per cent.
NS Hub in Bukit Gombak - which aims to be among the top 10 per cent of energy-efficient buildings in Singapore - could also save more than $700,000 in utility bills every year.
The features were unveiled yesterday at the ground-breaking ceremony for the building, which is scheduled for completion in 2023.
NS Hub will see services for national servicemen - from national service registration to physical fitness training - brought under one roof.
It will be located near the Ministry of Defence and connected to Cashew MRT station by an overhead bridge.
Currently, national servicemen go to the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) for NS registration, fitness conditioning centres for physical training tests and the Military Medicine Institute in Kent Ridge for specialist medical and dental care.
IPPT
The hub will house the first purpose-built, all-weather facility for the Individual Physical Proficiency Test - with a 400m indoor running track - that can accommodate 300 to 500 servicemen a session.
NS Hub will be open to the public and have facilities such as a foodcourt, an e-Mart, a childcare centre, an outdoor running track and an exercise corner.
A mobile app will allow servicemen to book appointments and receive updates.
Mr Pang Lu Kit, 45, NS Hub project lead from the Defence Science and Technology Agency, said that fluid dynamics simulations were done to determine the best way to place the building for maximum natural ventilation.
"We are benchmarking ourselves against the BCA (Building and Construction Authority) Green Mark Platinum standard.
"We are benchmarking ourselves against the super low energy certification and, ultimately, we want to be among the top 10 per cent of energy-efficient buildings in Singapore," he told reporters.
Rainwater-harvesting features will result in savings of 32,000 cubic m of water a year. That is enough for the use of 150 four-room Housing Board units in a year, said Mr Pang.
About 600 new trees will be planted - four times the existing number of trees on the current 9ha site where NS Hub sits. Half of the felled trees will be converted into usable features, such as seats.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen, who officiated the ground-breaking ceremony, said in a speech that NS Hub would likely be CMPB's permanent site, where many generations of national servicemen would enlist.
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