Gardens By The Pay

The recent uptick in publicity for the Gardens By The Bay is interesting more for what it has assiduously avoided mentioning than for what it has revealed. Right from the beginning, the question of just how much you would have to pay to get in has been left out of public discussion. For a government bent on 'development' at all costs for real reasons still not revealed to the public, it would be optimism bordering on the order of Oliver Twist for it to be otherwise. The Gardens is afterall managed by an organisation headed by a CEO. And as we all know, CEOs need to be paid. Very very well.

Let's be honest here: Gardens by the Bay was conceived to complement the Marina Bay Sands casino. I find it highly unlikely that gamblers would come all the way here to waste time walking around the gardens. No doubt high rollers would receive free entry tickets as a comp benefit. Singaporeans however would be ineligible as it would constitute a subsidy against the $100 entry fee which would be a big no no. After all, RWS's free shuttle service was shot down in no uncertain terms.

The two climate controlled domes for temperate or Mediteranean plants is a mistake. Just who is the target audience? Rich Singaporeans (rich anyone else for that matter) can and would fly to those countries to see the real thing. So, basically only those poor Singaporeans who cannot afford to go overseas for holidays will queue up in droves to pay the entrance fees to subsidize the running of these climate controlled systems. Excellent business plan! Good luck with that.

A better idea would have been to recreate a tropical rain forest which is more in tune with our climate. With both our neighbours to the north and south bent on burning up theirs, we could stock our garden specimens probably for free! What's more, most people (including high rollers) vwould likely never have ventured into a rain forest thereby making it a more attractive destination. With a much lower operating cost too.

So what happens when the Gardens by the Bay can't pay its way? (Hint: Like the durian by the Esplanade). One way or another everyone will be paying for it via taxes they pay. Odds for GST hitting 10%? Better than even. (Well, maybe 8%, just so the powers that be can say that my prediction is wrong :) )