Margaret Drive to get foreign worker dorm

Source : Straits Times - 4 Dec 2008

Ten sites are identified, but most of them are in remote areas

THE authorities have identified 10 more sites for temporary foreign worker dormitories, with the Queenstown Polyclinic site in Margaret Drive being the closest to residential areas.

The building is across the road from three blocks of HDB flats, a hawker centre and the Queenstown library.

Once it begins operating, in three to six months’ time, the dormitory will hold 150 construction workers. The Ministry of National Development (MND) said the site was chosen for its smaller capacity and its proximity to Dover Crescent, where the workers will be building a public housing project.

This site is one of three state properties that will be converted into temporary dormitories.

The remaining seven sites are on vacant state land and will be released for tender as demand develops in the future.

The 10 sites will hold up to 20,000 foreign workers and tenures will range from three to six years.

The majority of the sites are in remote areas like Mandai, Seletar West and Choa Chu Kang, which house industrial estates, farms and army camps.

Three sites, two of which are situated in Changi and a third in Hougang Avenue 3, are near residential areas but are at least a 10-minute walk away.

The MND said various measures will be put in place to minimise disruption caused by the new dormitories. For example, dormitories must have adequate facilities on site so that workers will not have to leave the premises.

A liaison officer will be required as a contact point for grassroots organisations and workers will be educated on the social norms and laws of Singapore.

This announcement comes months after news of a planned foreign worker dormitory in Serangoon Gardens caused an uproar among residents.

Grassroots leaders were consulted over the last two months regarding each new site and the leaders understood the need for new foreign worker housing, said the MND.

Margaret Drive residents who spoke to The Straits Times said that they are not overly concerned about having foreign workers in the neighbourhood, as long as they do not cause trouble.

Many also pointed out that they will be leaving the area soon as the blocks of flats opposite the polyclinic are being demolished over the next two years.

Madam Tan Gek Ling, 70, who has lived in Margaret Drive for 48 years, said she is already used to the sight of foreign workers gathering on the void deck.

‘They tend to leave their rubbish behind but they don’t cause any trouble,’ said the housewife.

Besides, she added, she will be moving out of her flat within two years.

However, some residents are concerned about their safety.

Madam Sim Bee Huay, 39, the mother of two primary school children, said the neighbourhood might not be as safe or as quiet.

The area’s MP Baey Yam Keng acknowledged that this is a concern among residents. ‘The police are well aware of this and there are plans to step up patrols. We also plan to increase the lighting in certain areas,’ he said.

Mr Baey said that the workers would be Chinese nationals and able to communicate with the mainly Mandarin- or dialect-speaking residents in the area.

Mr Kenneth Loo, the general manager of Straits Construction, which is building the Dover Crescent project, said it will help to have the workers close by.

The MND said the 10 sites will help meet Singapore’s construction needs over the next five to six years.

Contractors and dormitory operators believe that they will ease the shortage of space for such housing.

Mr Simon Lee, the executive director of the Singapore Contractors Association, said that as the sites are offered by the authorities, workers are guaranteed a better standard of housing.

‘This will help in addressing the welfare of the foreign workers,’ he said.

Sites best placed to house workers

IN IDENTIFYING sites for foreign worker dormitories, factors such as site availability and technical feasibility are considered, said a National Development Ministry spokesman.

The sites are also generally spacious and allow for amenities to be included for the workers, he added.

The 10 new sites for the development of temporary foreign worker dormitories are:

1. The former Queenstown Polyclinic building at Margaret Drive. It can house 150 workers.

2. The former Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore office at Upper Changi Road North. It can house 150 workers.

3. The existing CPG Corporation Airport Development Division at Upper Changi Road North. It can house 800 workers.

4. A site near the junction of Mandai Road and Mandai Link. It can house 2,000 workers.

5. A site near Old Choa Chu Kang Road, close to the junction of Jalan Lekar and Jalan Tapisan. It can house 2,400 workers.

6. A site along Hougang Avenue 3, near the Singapore Girls’ Home. It can house 3,000 workers.

7. A site along Kim Chuan Road, near Kim Chuan Depot. It can house 3,000 workers.

8. A site along Seletar West Farmway 6. It can house 3,000 workers.

9. A site along Jurong Road, near Track 22. It can house 2,300 workers.

10. A site along Jurong Road, near Track 18. It can house 2,300 workers.

Waiting for the storm to hit …

Going by past recessions, it could take nine more months before prices fall

FOR first-time flat seekers like Mr Neo Tze Siang, the economic downturn was meant to provide some respite from HDB prices pushed skyhigh by the property boom last year.

But despite the raft of job cuts and the gloomy economic forecasts trotted out, HDB prices are showing few signs of sliding.

“We hear about private property prices falling substantially but the current prices of new HDB flats do not seem to reflect the market realities. When the tide goes down, you would expect all ships to move down. But it seems that new HDB flats are not part of the ocean,” lamented Mr Neo, a 28-year-old salesman.

According to industry players, the wait could be at least another nine months - if prices do come down at all - no thanks to the slew of foreigners and private property downgraders eyeing the HDB rental and resale markets respectively, which indirectly pushes up the prices of new HDB flats.

Said Dennis Wee Group director Chris Koh: “Whenever you have a recession, the first to be hit would be the private property market. So, a lot of people will start downgrading from private homes to HDB flats.”

HDB’s “market-based” pricing approach for new flats takes into account several factors, including a project’s location, its individual attributes and the prevailing market conditions. The new flats are sold according to the prices they would fetch on the resale market minus the Government’s subsidy.

And in the first nine months of the year, HDB’s resale price index rose 12.4 per cent, rising by 4.2 per cent in the third quarter.

While HDB resale prices are expected to stabilise in the year ahead, the recession has yet to hit the man-in-the-street, said Mr Koh. A case in point: The latest Built-To-Order project Punggol Arcadia was more than three times oversubscribed, despite having five-room flats going for as much as $356,000 to $416,000.

Still, ERA Asia-Pacific’s assistant vice-president Eugene Lim noticed in recent weeks that prospective home buyers are now trying to get more bang for their buck. Said Mr Lim: “If your house is not near an MRT station, people are offering you prices that match the valuation or even lower.”

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan explained in 2002 that prices of new HDB flats rise and fall more slowly than do resale flat prices. This was necessary to maintain a stable property market and protect the value of the flats, the minister said.

Prior to last year’s property bull-run, which saw HDB’s resale price index matching its previous peak of 1996, resale flat prices fell by 30 per cent in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. But prices for new flats dropped just 10 to 15 per cent.

Some market experts believe it could be the same story this time round - with prices of new flats in the outlying areas expected to fall faster.

But Mr Lim, for one, doubted that prices of new HDB flats would fall at all, given the perpetually high demand for housing here.

Reiterating how HDB “followed the market and moved prices downwards” in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, a HDB spokesperson reiterated that the Government “remains committed to ensure that HDB flats are affordable to the vast majority of our citizen families, especially young married couples and the lower-income households”.

Still, in view of the current economic climate, the spokesperson advised flat seekers to “buy a flat within their means, bearing in mind how their future earnings may be impacted”.

The spokesperson added: “Given the current economic climate … They may have to start off with something more modest in size or less than ideal in location if prudence calls.”

Source : Today - 4 Dec 2008