Build enough facilities first to attract people to new estates
Having lived in Punggol 21 for more than four years now, I was excited when I saw the two words ‘Punggol perks’ (ST, May 7) accompanied by a map with plans to enliven the estate which is sorely lacking in basic facilities. However, disappointment soon set in as I found there was no mention of a library, more shops or a hawker centre planned.
The reasons often cited by the HDB for being slow to build these facilities are the slow take-up rate of new flats and the small population in the estate. To get more people to move into any new estate, the HDB could first commit to build enough basic facilities to attract people to set up homes there, rather than build these facilities when there is a critical mass of residents. People are naturally attracted where facilities are available.
Launching the Punggol 21 exhibition in 1996, then-minister for national development Lim Hng Kiang said: ‘More Singaporeans will enjoy this 21st-century lifestyle as Punggol 21 will be the model for new towns in future.’ Sad to say, owing to lack of facilities, would-be home owners are giving Punggol 21 a miss.
No definite plans have been announced as to when the town centre and the sports stadium will be built. The PUB’s plans to dam up Sungei Serangoon and Sungei Punggol by 2009 to create two reservoirs where water sports can be conducted are good news. In tandem, the HDB could now plan for more built-to-order flats as the response should be good.
Lee Kok Lin
Source : Straits Times - 11 May 2007
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