Punggol Town transforms

Source : Straits Times - 18 Apr 2009

WHEN Mr Samuel Ng first heard in 2007 that the Government had plans to transform Punggol Town into a vibrant waterfront town, he simply could not wait for the makeover.

Artist’s impression of Punggol Waterway. — PHOTO: HDB

On Saturday, Mr Ng, 52, a Punggol resident for the last seven years, glimpsed the future at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Punggol Waterway.

‘The waterway will breathe new life and add vibrancy to this sleepy town,’ he said. ‘It will just be a stone’s throw from where I live!’

But the waterway could have been a lost opportunity - if not for the spirit of innovation and teamwork between the Housing Board and Public Utilities Board, said Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean.

Indeed, he said the growth of Punggol, like Singapore itself, shows how citizens working as one with ‘vision, determination and innovation can overcome the odds to build new communities and radically transform our living environment’.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr Teo said the transformation of Punggol, an old fishing village, mirrors the experience of Singapore. The nation itself was a fishing village before it made the quantum leap to global city.

In the case of Punggol, the waterway was initially meant to be a ‘drain’ connecting Sungei Serangoon and Sungei Punggol at each end of Punggol Town.

But when the PUB engineers and the HDB planners discussed the town’s development in the Punggol 21 masterplan, they spied an opportunity to build Punggol around this new waterway, he said.

The result? A 4.2km waterway which will flow beside 21,000 units of new public and private housing.

Cutting right through Punggol Town, the waterway is expected to be completed by the end of next year.