INNOVATION AWARD FOR MARINA BAY FLOATING PLATFORM PROJECT

From 2007 to 2009, spectators of the National Day parades were able to get a view of the city skyline during the celebrations, all thanks to the Marina Bay Floating Platform (MBFP).

The project, which was conceptualised in 2005, was awarded the Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Innovation Award on 7 Oct. It was led by the Ministry of Defence/Singapore Armed Forces (MINDEF/SAF), with contributions from the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

This is the first time that MINDEF/SAF has been awarded an international-level award in the area of innovation.

Established in 2008, the Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Innovation Award recognises organisations in Asia-Pacific which have demonstrated leadership in creating innovative products.

Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed, was the Guest of Honour at the event.

Receiving the award at the St Regis Hotel was Brigadier-General (BG) Teo Jing Siong, Commander 2nd Division People's Defence Force, who was the project manager for the MBFP project.

Speaking to cyberpioneer on the inspiration behind the project, BG Teo said: "In 2005, we heard that the National Stadium was going to be torn down for redevelopment, so we went around looking for a venue that was fitting to hold the NDP, but the stadiums we saw were either too small or lacking in infrastructure.

"We saw a narrow strip of land next to the Marina Square Shopping Centre, and thought of using it to build a seating gallery. We thought of putting some pontoons in the centre of Marina Bay as a floating stage, with the beautiful Singapore city skyline as the backdrop and the surrounding waters to serve as an extended stage."

BG Teo attributed the success of the project to the team from the Singapore Combat Engineers, DSTA, and partners from SSC and URA, for helping to overcome challenges, such as having to design a platform that could host sporting events, exhibitions and even NDP, as well as engineering difficulties in stabilising the platform.

On what the award means to MINDEF/SAF, BG Teo said: "It shows that MINDEF has a lot of capable and innovative people who also have technical capabilities."

BG Teo was also invited to participate as a panelist in a discussion titled "The State of Innovation", held as part of the Frost & Sullivan Growth, Innovation and Leadership 2010 business summit.

To be held at Resorts World Convention Centre on 19 Oct, the summit gathers business and industry leaders to discuss growth strategies for their organisations through dialogues, presentations and networking sessions.

At the discussion, BG Teo will share insights on the creative work processes behind the MBFP project with senior business executives and industry leaders.

Besides MINDEF/SAF, the other winners of this year's Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Innovation Award include Olam International (Singapore) and Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.