http://www.straitstimes.com/Singapor...ry_238799.html

May 19, 2008

Punggol to have new shopping mall, more flats


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.

SUJIN THOMAS