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One-stop hub for NS-related services to be ready from 2025; new app to be rolled out

2024-02-29 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - The new Central Manpower Base (CMPB), a one-stop service hub for pre-enlistees and national servicemen, will be opened in phases from 2025, bringing under one roof national service-related administration services from medical screening to personal kit replacement.

Meanwhile, a OneNS mobile app that consolidates NS-related services and transactions is slated to be rolled out to all NS units in 2024, alongside a new website to replace the existing NS Portal.

These measures will enhance the national service experience and administrative efficiency, Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How said on Feb 29 during the debate on Mindef’s budget.

Announced in 2019, the new CMPB will be located opposite Cashew MRT station, near the current Ministry of Defence headquarters in Bukit Gombak.

Compared with the current CMPB in Depot Road, the new integrated hub in Upper Bukit Timah Road will result in shorter medical screening times for pre-enlistees, who can also take their pre-enlistment individual physical proficiency test at the same location, said Mr Heng.

The new CMPB will also house the Singapore Armed Forces’ second regional health hub (RHH) to provide more responsive care to soldiers, he added. This means NSmen will soon be able to undergo their health screening programme, as well as access dental and specialist care, at one location.

The Ministry of Defence previously said it would build six RHHs around the island, which consolidate the SAF’s essential healthcare services to serve each region. The first RHH, opened in Kranji in 2023, supports SAF camps in the north-west such as Kranji camps I, II and III, Mandai Hill Camp, SAF Detention Barracks and Stagmont Camp.

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Mr Heng said the SAF will establish up to four more RHHs in the next decade, with the third one to be located at Dieppe Barracks in Khatib to serve the north.

“It will house the SAF’s first Sports and Exercise Medicine Centre, to better manage musculoskeletal injuries and is slated to commence operations in 2027,” he said.

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Besides medical and fitness facilities, the new CMPB will have a Lifestylemart where NSmen can buy NS-related items, he added. These include running shoes and exercise attire. They can also buy their equipment online and collect them physically.

The new one-stop hub will also house a 700-seat foodcourt, a childcare centre, football field and a fitness zone, which will be open to the public.

“We envisage these amenities to be open even on weekends, bringing convenience to NSmen and the community nearby,” said Mr Heng.

On the OneNS mobile app, he said it will streamline administrative processes for in-camp training.

Instead of NSmen having to queue to scan their physical identity cards, the app will enable them to register their attendance using geolocation and QR code scanning, he said.

A related OneNS web portal with improved design will replace the current NS Portal, “allowing national servicemen to access NS services more easily and with few disruptions”, he added.

Visual mock-up of the OneNS app that will be rolled out progressively from the end of 2024 for NSmen. PHOTOS: MINDEF

Mr Heng also updated the House on the progress of work on NS Square at the site of the Marina Bay floating platform.

Announced in 2017 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the project was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nestled in greenery, this zone features a running trail exercise stations and a football field. It will be open to the public daily from 7.30am to 11pm. PHOTO: MINDEF

When ready, the new permanent space will have an NS-themed gallery, community sports facilities and a public waterfront promenade, among other new features.

The project is on track for completion in 2027, with construction to commence in March 2024, said Mr Heng.

“When completed in 2027, it will play host to major national events like the National Day Parade and bigger scale community, sporting and recreational activities,” he said.