The project will enhance the living environment for some 2,000 households living in 29 blocks along Serangoon North Avenue 1 and 2.

The new and upgraded amenities are aimed at encouraging families, community and social groups to gather, socialise and improve community bonding.

Proposed amenities include beautifully landscaped family parks, modern community plaza, modern children playgrounds and boardwalks.

Following the consultation exercise, the Working Committee will consolidate and review the feedback from residents before finalising the type and extent of improvements to be carried out.

A consensus gathering exercise will be held after the public consultation and exhibition for all residents to vote for the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

The upgrading will only proceed if 75 per cent or more of the eligible household units in the precinct vote in favour.

The project is scheduled to be completed within a two-year period upon receiving support from the consensus gathering exercise.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 22 May 2010

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Residents can look forward to new facilities like covered linkways, footpaths, fitness corners and surveillance systems.

Aljunied Town Council says it is a fully-funded government project.

A polling exhibition will be held and the upgrading will only proceed if 75 per cent or more of the eligible household units in the precinct are in favour.

The NRP involves 25 blocks which are located at Blocks 121-127, 142-148, 151-154, Serangoon North Ave 1, and Blocks 135-141 Serangoon North Ave 2.

The project is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2010 and complete by the fourth quarter of 2012.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 23 May 2009

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S$6 million has been set aside to rejuvenate the Cashew division in the area.

Nearly 1,700 homes in the Cashew division will benefit from the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

In the pipeline are more cycling and jogging tracks, covered linkways and residents’ corners.

Thusara Dharmapala, chairman of Cashew Residents’ Committee Zone, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said: “A lot of people wanted more car parks and that is something that we are looking at right now. Some other issues included more facilities like barbeque pits.”

Although the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme is free, residents will still have to cast their vote for it. And the constituency will not proceed with the programme unless it gets a 75 per cent approval from the residents.

The government also wants residents to take ownership and responsibility of the programme.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister and MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, said: “Some of the problems are really to do with the fact that after the facility is being built, it was abused and misused and actually ended up making residents unhappy.

“So this is something we are trying to avoid in the future by making sure that it is not just an architect’s grand idea or ideas from the residents committee.

“These are ideas which bubble up from the ground. The last thing I want is to create a white elephant or worse create something that unwittingly inconveniences or creates disamenities.”

Ideas gathered from house visits and dialogue sessions will be incorporated into the plans before they are presented to residents for their final vote.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 22 Mar 2009

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SOME of the Government’s $4.7 billion worth of deferred construction projects are to be brought forward again, in a move expected to help smaller local building contractors. And priority will be given to smaller projects, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said.

“We are also looking to see whether the different ministries are able to bring forward some of their projects, to take advantage of the potentially lower cost of construction,” Mr Mah told reporters at the HDB Hub on Friday.

“We think that with a reduction in inflationary pressures, material costs will come down. Some of the manpower costs will start to come down as well,” he added, saying the: various ministries are still finalising their decisions.

As recently as July, the Government was still adding projects to the list of those to be delayed as pressure on construction resources increased.

The delays were needed so that work on big projects like the two integrated resorts, the Marina Bay Financial Centre and the Downtown MRT line could get priority, the Building and Construction Authority said.

A new financial target should be announced early in the new year, along with details of the projects involved, some of which could be completely new – not just those earlier delayed.

Mr Mah said that some HDB upgrading programmes should be accelerated.

“There are other upgrading projects that we are doing – the Home Improvement Programme, the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme – and I’m seeing how we can bring this forward so that there will be some benefits for our local contractors.”

He also spoke of the HDB’s built-to-order (BTO) projects, where he has asked for priority to be given to Punggol, which is undergoing an ambitious remaking.

On Friday, Mr Mah officiated at the prize-giving ceremony for the winning Punggol waterfront landscape design competition, and launched a design contest for its waterfront housing.

At Punggol, he said: “We have about 17,000 flats already completed. We hope to launch 3,000 flats a year. So, if you take into account all those BTO projects that we have announced, we should have around 23,000 projects by 2010-11.”

The Punggol flats are intended to be affordable for all, with less than 30 per cent of a household’s income going to housing. The more expensive flats will be along the waterway, the centrepiece of the Punggol 21+ vision.

With all the new building going on, a big town-centre project will be justified for Punggol, Mr Mah said. “It will also be viable for the developers to start building a new commercial shopping centre complex in the new town.”

But as the economic downturn takes hold, the government is expecting a rise in mortgage difficulties. In a recent parliamentary statement, some 33,000 households a year were said to be in mortgage arrears.

Mr Mah said: “If the economy goes down even further as we all expect, and if there are further job losses, then inevitably there will be more cases coming up.

“There are many different ways of helping; deferment of payments is only one of the ways.”

Each case is looked at individually, he said. But “we encourage people to look for alternatives like downgrading. If for example, they cannot afford a large flat, we suggest to them why don’t you downgrade and move into a smaller flat. In those circumstances, the HDB will be prepared to extend them another HDB loan.”

Source : Today – 13 Dec 2008

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Singapore previously deferred S$4.7 billion worth of public sector projects due to high construction costs.

The Ministry of National Development said now is a good time to do so with material costs looking to fall further.

Residents in older public housing can also expect refurbishments sooner.

At the launch of two urban design events on Friday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) is bringing forward plans for its Home Improvement Programme.

This is one of several ways the government is stimulating the economy.

Under the plan, residents will get items like new doors, gates and toilet-fittings installed for free.

Another HDB project to be brought forward is the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme. This will spruce up the environment around older housing estates like upgrading lift landings and letter boxes.

Mr Mah said: “The primary consideration is to bring back those projects where we’re able to help some of the smaller contractors. In other words, some of the smaller projects. In addition to that, we’re also looking to see whether the different ministries are able to bring some of their projects, to take advantage of the potentially lower costs of construction, going forward.”

The move has been welcomed by the Singapore Contractors’ Association.

As to which government projects will be brought forward, Mr Mah said the details are expected by January when the government announces the 2009 Budget.

Mr Mah added: “Not all of these projects can be brought forward totally because some of the projects are very lumpy projects and some their costs may not have come down sufficiently. But where the costs have come down and where the projects are of a reasonable size, the important thing is to give priority to the smaller projects.

Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Forecast said the latest move will prevent smaller contractors from closing down, give jobs to construction workers and ensure consumption.

Even though it can counter the slowdown in the property market, he said the plan will just minimise the recession in Singapore and not stop it completely.

However, Mr Varathan cautioned against the assumption that construction costs will fall further. He said while it’s not likely to increase to rates during the construction boom, regional demand for big projects from countries like China and India may cause prices to rebound again.

Recession aside, Punggol residents can look forward to having a waterfront town of the 21st century.

This winning design was picked from 11 entries in a waterway landscape competition.

Mr Mah said Punggol’s development is on track despite the poor economy with 17,000 flats completed and 3,000 new ones expected annually till 2011.

The National Development Minister said the target is to have 23,000 flats by 2011, a critical mass for a Town Centre to be built and commercial developers to set up shopping malls.

He added that flats there will be affordable for all income groups with smaller and rental flats for the lower-income.

Of the 5,000 Build-to-Order flats launched, about 550 are two-room and three-room units and about 500 rental units are already under construction.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Dec 2008

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Announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally last year, it is a new programme that focuses on neighbourhood improvements.

Flats that have been built before or in 1989 are eligible for NRP if they have not undergone any kind of main or interim upgrading.

Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said on Saturday that although it may be a free programme for the residents, it will require at least 75 percent support before it can be rolled out.

This is because the programme covers a larger area – at least two precincts – compared to other upgrading programmes. The minister added that he hopes economies of scale will allow the government to do more.

With NRP, residents have a direct say in the kinds of facilities they wish to have in their neighbourhood.

A consultation exercise that is expected to take four to six months has kicked off.

Dr Balakrishnan said: “They will tell us what they want and they will spell out the ideas. We’ll then form a working committee, work with those ideas, come up with a proposal and go back to the residents for them to choose.”

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Apr 2008

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