Channel NewsAsia 17 May 08;
SINGAPORE : Punggol residents can expect a new shopping mall as large as Junction 8, in their town centre, when the Housing and Development Board (HDB) launches the first sale site at Punggol in the next two to three years.
The site will be used for a mixed commercial and private residential development.
Earmarked as Singapore's waterfront town, much of the activities in Punggol will centre around a new waterway.
The HDB has completed technical studies for the waterway.
It will now explore ways to integrate eco-friendly features and how to make it safe and vibrant for different recreational options.
Work on the waterway is expected to start next year.
Mah Bow Tan, National Development Minister, said, "We are actually going to dig a major waterway, over four kilometres long and four metres deep; the width will varying depending on where it is. In three to four years' time, we should have the new waterway completed."
HDB has also launched a new design competition to get the private sector involved in the design of the waterway landscape.
A Waterfront Housing Design Competition will also be held to develop more concrete plans for a new generation of public housing.
Mr Mah said, "HDB is going to launch and build another 4,000 new homes in Punggol later this year for sale under the BTO (Build-to-Order) programme. So if you add it all up, we are going to have more than 20,000 new flats in Punggol."
Going forward, HDB plans to launch the first public housing site along the waterfront in the next two to three years, after major works of the waterway are completed.
Some land will also be set aside for private residential projects.
HDB said fun and adventure await residents along the coastline.
Work on the coastal promenade will begin soon, while the development of a Rustic Park at Coney Island will start next year. - CNA/ms
Punggol to have new shopping mall, more flats
Sujin Thomas, Straits Times 19 May 08;
RESIDENTS in Punggol will have a new shopping mall and more fellow residents within the next three years.
The new town, which already has 16,700 flats, has another 2,100 being built now.
The Housing Board also recently launched 1,700 flats and will launch another 4,000 by year's end, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan last Saturday at the launch of a two-day exhibition on the progress in Punggol.
He added that, with more residents calling Punggol home, it would become feasible to build more commercial and public facilities.
One being planned is a shopping mall about the size of Junction 8 in Bishan.
The first sale site for a mixed commercial and private residential development will be launched in the town centre in the next two to three years.
Punggol's 4.2km waterway through the town will be used to bring water closer to the community. The Housing Board recently completed technical studies on it and works will begin next year.
A landscape masterplan design competition is being held to tap the expertise of urban planners, architects and landscape architects, who will be expected to contribute designs and concepts for the waterway, two tributaries and 10m-wide promenades along the waterway and town park.
The HDB plans to launch the first public housing site along a waterfront after major works of the waterway are completed in the next two to three years.
Several plots of land will also be set aside for private residential projects.
Work on the coastal promenade will begin soon, while the development of a rustic park on Coney Island will start next year. Other facilities being worked on include a horse-riding centre and a golf range.
