Are you able to spot the differences in the two pictures?

No? Don't worry. Neither can many others, it seems.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) completed its $40-million makeover of Orchard Road last weekend, but 40 out of 100 people polled along Orchard Road by LifeStyle did not notice anything different.

'$40 million? That's a lot of zeroes,' a 35-year-old civil servant, who did not want to be named, gasped.

He added: 'I know that landscaping is expensive but I don't think it's worth it. I hardly even noticed the difference.'

Even among those who saw a difference, half could name only one change along the pedestrian malls resulting from the project, which started in April last year.

This is despite the fact that the STB has introduced numerous changes, including new street lamps, co-ordinated street furniture, decorative glass panels and potted flower totems.

Sales promoter Nicholas Poh, 18, said: 'I only see the glass panels, that's all. I read they were going to change the litter bins but I don't notice anything. There's not much change. For $40 million, they should have built a bridge across the road.'

Clinical sales executive Juniper Isaac, 37, said: 'I read in the newspaper about how much STB spent and was expecting something 'wow'. But when I came here, it seems like there's no big difference and it's something that you would not notice unless you looked closely.'

STB's director of tourism shopping and dining, Mr Andrew Phua, explained: 'The $40 million covers the cost of the works which included state-of-the-art lighting, power upgrading, landscaping, repaving works and consultants' fees, etc. We have received positive feedback from stakeholders about the rejuvenation works.'

By stakeholders, he was referring to the Orchard Road Business Association and some of the mall owners.

He added: 'While the stage is set for Orchard Road to grow organically, we cannot expect that infrastructure works alone will energise and enhance Orchard Road, or that this change will be an immediate one that will take place overnight.'

Mr Phua also emphasised that the makeover can only be complete with an exciting retail experience offering variety and complementary dining and entertainment, and the STB is working with the existing and new malls for this to happen.

The makeover covered the stretch from Orchard Parade Hotel to Concorde Hotel. Apart from being unable to spot the changes, some of those polled found fault with the new installations.

'The glass panels are impractical, especially at night, when people may get drunk and smash it, or into it. The money is not well spent on the glass,' said teacher Joyce Tan, 30.

Designer Josephine Jane, 22, complained: 'It doesn't look finished and doesn't make it look better. The flower totems are annoying because they block your view and we don't really know the purpose of the glass panel.'

STB's Mr Phua replied: 'The glass panels are designed for safety and are heat-strengthened. In the event that the glass is hit by hard objects, it will not shatter but will remain intact with cracks on the panel to mitigate potential danger to the public.

'The location of the flower totems took into consideration the wider mall space afforded by that side of the road. In accordance with LTA guidelines, a 5m-clearance was built in to allow for smooth human traffic flow.'

While many of those polled did not notice any changes, some did observe something 'new' lying around.

Retiree Rosy Ong, 69, said: 'You spend so much money and look, all the dead leaves on the floor. They should do something to clean up the walkways and promote Singapore. The pavement is beautiful but the leaves on the floor are terrible.

'It's a good idea to have more greenery in Singapore, but they should maintain it.'

Perhaps STB should take up the suggestion of housewife Jennifer Symons-Leith, in her 40s, who said: 'They should spend more money on cleaning up and maintaining the place instead. I was just walking down here and I was thinking to myself 'Clean up, guys'. The pavement looks so dirty, I thought it was flooring from three decades ago.'

Additional reporting by Rachel Boon, Fiona Low and Natasha Ann Zachariah

Where the $40 million went to

• Flowering frangipani trees have been planted at the intersection of Tanglin and Orange Grove Roads to create a gateway into the area
• Ambient and subtle tree uplighting to characterise Orchard Road's lush greenery (picture 1)
• Energy-saving multi-functional lamp posts which can be used to tap electricity during street events (picture 2).
• 20 flower totems (picture 3) along the pedestrian mall from Hilton Hotel to Wheelock Place, to inject colour and vibrancy to the area. The flowers on these totems can be changed to reflect different seasons and festival celebrations. Retiling and LED strip-lighting were done along certain stretches of the malls
• Widening of some parts of the malls
• 35 glass panels (picture 4) etched with images depicting the zone's forest theme as well as Orchard Road's history. The panels are lit at night
• Movable planters (picture 5) which can be rearranged to accommodate mega-street events
• Co-ordinated street furniture, including benches and litter bins, and new recycle bins
• Cinnamon and nutmeg trees, which allude to Orchard Road's early history, have been planted on the grass bank opposite the Concorde Hotel

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.