A space not just for kayaking, cycling and jogging but also a one-of-a-kind waterway unlikely to be built in other estates here - that was how Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described My Waterway@Punggol as he officially opened it yesterday.
Built over three years at a cost of S$225 million, the 4.2km-long waterway is the centrepiece in the Government’s plan to transform the sleepy estate of Punggol into a waterfront town of the 21st century.
At 10 to 85m wide and 3 to 4m deep, the waterway - developed by Surbana International Consultants - spans about 22 football fields and connects to the Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs as well as the Lorong Halus wetlands.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Lee said he was happy to witness the completion of the waterway, a “green lung in the middle of our tight city”.
Plans to build Punggol 21 were first conceived in the 1990s but were put on hold when the Asian financial crisis struck, he noted.
It was only after the economy had recovered that the plans were revisited and improved, culminating in Punggol 21 Plus, where waterfront living would become a reality.
The original idea was to build a simple pipeline connecting to Punggol and Serangoon reservoirs, “most practical, but unexciting”, said Mr Lee. But it was the then-National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan who suggested a waterway instead.
“Make it something beautiful, something which Singaporeans can enjoy, something which can be special for the residents and which we can build on and appreciate for many more years,” Mr Lee recounted of what Mr Mah had envisioned.
Looking ahead, around 21,000 public and private homes will be built along the Punggol waterway, including Waterway Terraces I, the first public housing precinct that was launched there, in June last year.
Three other Build-to-Order projects will also be built along the waterway. And by the end of this year, 23,000 families will call Punggol home.
In 2015, there will be a new commercial hub and town plaza by its MRT station, and the town will be almost as big as Ang Mo Kio.
Mr Lee said the Government is committed to improving amenties and conditions in older estates, too, like Yishun and East Coast, and is investing S$10 billion over the next 10 years in upgrading projects.
Lessons from Punggol’s first “eco-precinct”, the Treelodge@Punggol - from the use of solar panels to rainwater harvesting - will also be applied to other towns.
But even as Punggol is transformed, its heritage as a fishing village will be honoured, said Mr Lee. For example, a bridge along the waterway - the Kelong Bridge - is designed with stilt-like features along its structure.
Treelodge@Punggol resident Samuel Tan, who lives in a four-room unit overlooking the waterway, said he was pleasantly surprised by how much the waterway had been developed.
“In 2007 when I bought my flat, I thought the waterway would be something simple like a longkang (drain) … but it has turned out well,” said Mr Tan, who is in his 40s and works in the financial services industry.
