More space ‘could be made for housing in Bedok’
SINGAPORE — More space could be freed up for housing developments in Bedok when the Bedok Integrated Complex is completed in 2017, said Senior Minister of State (National Development) Lee Yi Shyan.
Responding to questions by reporters after the official opening of the Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre yesterday, Mr Lee, who is also Member of Parliament for East Coast GRC, said the land occupied by Bedok Swimming Complex — among the facilities that will be moved to the new integrated complex — could be used for housing.
As for sites occupied by other facilities such as Bedok Polyclinic, Mr Lee said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) will be consulted about the usage of the space.
Bedok, which has about 250,000 residents, remains a popular mature town and there are often requests from people to buy resale flats there, he said, adding: “It’s convenient, it’s matured (and has) a lot of amenities.”
Once completed, the Bedok Integrated Complex — the size of three football fields — will house the Kampong Chai Chee Community Club, Bedok Sports Centre, Bedok Polyclinic, an eldercare centre and Bedok Public Library. The complex is part of the HDB’s Remaking our Heartland (ROH) plans in the East Coast area which include the Bedok Town centre area and other Bedok Town neighbourhoods.
The ROH programme was created after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke of the need to help HDB estates keep pace with the changing needs of the community in his National Day Rally speech in 2007.
The new Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre, also part of the ROH plans, has 70 stalls and can seat about 1,000 people. It also offers NETS contactless card payment and free Wi-Fi.
Other developments to be completed over the next few years include the new Bedok Town Plaza. Mr Lee said a focal point is needed in every town for residents to congregate for bonding and common activities the way flea markets, for example, acted as a congregation point in the past.
“So, I think the town plaza is a very natural place for people to gather and in some way, we hope it will remind us of our kampung days,” he added.
