Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at the official opening ceremony of Northshore Plaza

Jul 24, 2022

Advisers to Pasir Ris Punggol GRC and Punggol West GROs – Dr Janil Puthucheary, Ms Sun Xueling, Mr Desmond Tan, Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Yeo Wan Ling

HDB CEO, Mr Tan Meng Dui

Colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen

Opening & Welcome

A very good morning to everyone here. I am happy to join you at the official opening ceremony of Northshore Plaza, HDB’s very first seafront Neighbourhood Centre (NC). In fact, a few months ago, I was just nearby at one of the BTO estates – Northshore Edge – taking a look at the project and speaking to some families. From that vantage point, I could see this Neighbourhood Centre taking shape and getting ready to open up to the community.

Punggol is a very vibrant town with a lot of recreational spaces. It is close to water bodies, and loved by many people.

Over the years, we have grown our local Punggol communities by introducing seven waterfront districts here in Punggol, each one of them with their own character and identity.

The Northshore District is Punggol’s first seafront housing district. Here, we also want to use new technologies to enhance the living environment for our residents here.

The Northshore District is Punggol’s first seafront housing district. Here, we also want to use new technologies to enhance the living environment for our residents here.

Northshore Plaza is the latest addition to Punggol, and part of its identity as well as community.

Let me just highlight three key features of Northshore Plaza, some things for you to look out for when you go around exploring later.

I know some of you have been here a number of times already and explored this place through and through. Maybe you, in turn, can show us some interesting areas that you have discovered.

Connectivity as a Neighbourhood Centre

As a neighbourhood centre, we want Northshore Plaza to be well connected to the rest of Punggol, so it’s a natural place for you to gather across this town. Connectivity-wise:

a. We have the Samudera LRT station.

b. You can walk to the Punggol waterfront and there are many shops lining the walkway.

c. We know that there are many of you here are cyclists as well. If you’re cycling along the North-Eastern Riverine Loop, going to scenic spots like Punggol Promenade or the Waterway Park, you can take Northshore Plaza as a pit-stop – take a break, have a breather, have a drink, chill for a while.

d. The seafront views here, which are part of Punggol’s charm, offer a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Array of Amenities Tailored to Residents’ Needs

This brings me to the second key feature of Northshore Plaza, which are the amenities; the facilities. HDB has planned Northshore Plaza to cater to your lifestyle preferences and your needs.

a. Many of you have shared that you tend to dine out because of your busy work hours.

b. As working parents, some of you hoped that more shops and facilities could open till later at night, after you are done with your day’s work and with your caregiving duties.

That is why the supermarket and the fitness centre here are open 24 hours, so that you can get your groceries or you can work out anytime.

a. There is also a wide variety of F&B options, including, I’m told, some highly-rated local eateries such as Creamier Handcrafted Ice Cream and Coffee, and Song Fa Kway Chap. Song Fa has an interesting self-service concept, which I’m told customers have taken well to.

b. On the second storey facing the sea, we have the food court Cantine, operated by Kopitiam. This prime waterfront dining space is something you might associate with, perhaps, upscale restaurant in other malls, but we put the food court here so that everyone can enjoy the views.

c. HDB brought in tenants not just based on the price of the bids that they put, but other factors such as the business model, affordability of the products, and their track record – so, in short, a price and quality method – PQM. We don’t just look at price, but we look at quality, we look at affordability, as well. If you don’t do that, then those who look at this place and say, good location, good business, beautiful view, then bid higher, charge higher, they will get priority. But in fact, we want to make sure we balance and ensure that residents’ needs are met.

We also curated the public spaces to support community bonding.

a. This very space that we are at now, the community plaza, caters to various events and activities like festive celebrations and fitness classes. Please make good use of this place. This is a place for you, for your families, for your neighbours, for your community.

b. We have other rest areas sprinkled all over, and another large green lawn at Plaza II which even has its own dragonfly pond.

With all eight of the BTO projects in Northshore District completing within the next few months, Northshore Plaza has arrived at just the right time.

a. It will complement other amenities and facilities here in Punggol – the other shopping malls, Oasis Terraces neighbourhood centre and the neighbourhood shops.

b. One Punggol community hub is also opening progressively, starting next month. It houses a hawker centre, childcare and senior care centres.

Designed to be Smart and Sustainable

The third key element of Northshore Plaza is its many smart and sustainable features, like the rest of Northshore –

a. The community spaces that we’ve designed and built are carefully located to capitalise on the wind direction and to maximise air flow, so you feel more comfortable.

b. The skylights on the roof are integrated with solar panels, and the louvre panels on the building let in lots of sunlight and sea breeze.

c. Greenery was planted in potential hotspots to try to lower the ambient temperature, so it doesn’t feel too hot and stuffy.

d. All these help to reduce the need for artificial lighting and air-conditioning, and lower energy consumption.

e. I know many people who moved into Punggol are very conscious about the environment. Both in Singapore and especially around the world now, we see the hot temperatures, unpredictable weather, heat wave in many countries; sustainability, the future environment, is very important to many of you. In designing our public housing estates, we also want to make sure that we meet those aspirations and also play our part in tackling climate change.

There are other features including smart fans and smart lighting, which are automatically adjusted based on changes in temperature and human traffic – depends on how many people there are, and we adjust accordingly. There is no point, when there’s nobody around going full blast, lights fully on. It is wasteful of energy. But when there are more people, we want you to be more comfortable, then we adjust.

Together, these efforts have earned Northshore Plaza the Green Mark Platinum certification that you’ve got.

You can find out more about these sustainability initiatives, from the information panels and the QR codes all around Northshore District. Look out for them, use them, learn about them, share them with your family and friends, teach your children and grandchildren. When visitors come, this is another point you can be proud about.

Conclusion

We will continue to pursue fresh ideas as we develop our HDB towns, and redevelop older towns to provide a quality living environment for Singaporeans.

a. For example, we are building more of such new generation neighbourhood centres like this, including Anchorvale Village in Sengkang and two more in Tengah, which will be completed over the next three years.

b. We will also revitalize the rest of our HDB heartland shops – bringing them into the future with digitalization, supporting older shop keepers and walking the journey with them, but not forgetting the memories and identities that they hold for residents. HDB and our colleagues at Enterprise Singapore have been working on a study and asking Singaporeans, young and young-at-heart what the heartland shops mean to them, and we’ll be sharing more on this once the study is finalized.

We will continue to provide the infrastructure and physical spaces, but ultimately it is you, it is the community – our residents, our community groups, our interest groups, our shopkeepers and more – that create the sense of belonging and community spirit of our HDB heartlands, whether here in Punggol, or in the West, or in Toa Payoh – all with the same HDB infrastructure, but each unique in their identities and their dynamics.

I encourage all our Singaporeans to join us in this journey, share with us your views and aspirations so that our homes and neighbourhoods are not just places that we live in, but also places that we love, take care of, grow up with our families in, look after the next generation in, and help to improve, day after day.

I hope you enjoy this neighbourhood centre, and bring your family and friends here. I hope it meets the needs that you have living here. There will, of course, be teething problems from time to time, but we will work closely with your team, closely with all of you, to resolve it, and make this place beloved, make this place a place you can be proud of. I wish you all a wonderful Sunday morning. Please enjoy all that Northshore Plaza has to offer.

Thank you.