Every public housing town and estate will be a good one for Singaporeans, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a speech on 26 Mar.
Further, the People’s Action Party (PAP) government promises all Singaporeans that Housing Development Board (HDB) flats will be a “valuable nest egg” for retirement.
Source: Facebook
The promise was made during the groundbreaking event for Chong Pang City, a new integrated development in the Yishun area that’ll be completed in 2027.
PM Lee said HDB isn’t just building houses, but also entire public housing estates with amenities to meet the modern living needs of residents.
“We are progressively redeveloping the older precincts to refresh the living environment with new homes and new amenities and infrastructure. And we want every one of our HDB towns, new or old, to be of high quality,” he said.
Most cities find this very difficult to achieve, PM Lee added.
“If you go to most cities, you will see that some areas are very nice. That is where the tour guide will take you.
“But there will be other areas which you may not see as a tourist — neighbourhoods left behind without much amenities, dilapidated or run down, or inconvenient to live in because it is a long journey to commute to work or school,” he said.
However, PM Lee said the situation was different in Singapore.
We strive very hard to make all our new towns, all our HDB towns, highly liveable.
Though some towns will be more popular than others, PM Lee thinks that is just the way things are, and it cannot be helped.
But he promised that no matter the town’s popularity, residents can be assured that every estate will be “well-planned, well-appointed, well-maintained”.
They will include amenities, schools, clinics, hawker centres, coffee shops, sports facilities, and good transport connectivity, not just within the town with shuttle bus services, but also expressways and MRT lines to the rest of Singapore.
“And it will be a good place to live in, and your property values will reflect that,” PM Lee said.
Such is the PAP government’s promise to all Singaporeans — their HDB flats will be a good home for families and a “valuable nest egg for. . . retirement”.
“Our public housing system works, and I think Singaporeans know that,” PM Lee continued.
“With your support, we will continue to keep this system running well and deliver on our promise to Singaporeans for many more years to come.”
When Chong Pang City is completed in 2027, there will be “community, social, and leisure activities all put together in one convenient location,” PM Lee said.
Facilities will include rooftop swimming pools, a gymnasium, fitness studios, a wet market, and a hawker centre.
He added that there would also be programmes to promote active lifestyles and enhance interaction among residents, not just for those living in Chong Pang, but also all over Nee Soon and in northern Singapore.
He also talked about Chong Pang’s development over the years when Nee Soon New Town was made to accommodate kampung dwellers in the 1980s.
As an MP, PM Lee promised residents, who preferred Bishan or Ang Mo Kio as they have more amenities, that Nee Soon would become as vibrant a town.
“And indeed, today, Nee Soon is a vibrant and thriving family-friendly place, with a full range of facilities and programmes,” he said.
You can read the full speech here.
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Featured image adapted from Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook.
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