Building roads takes a longer time compared to flat construction, according to Lee Yi Shyan, Senior Minister of State for National Development.
Mr Lee revealed this in response to concerns raised by Lee Bee Wah, MP for Nee Soon GRC in Parliament, who said that while five new Build-to-Order (BTO) projects are likely to be completed in her ward by 2014, there will be no roads in place to serve its future residents until a year later.
“Some of the major infrastructure such as vehicular network and rail access will take much longer (to be completed) than the construction of HDB flat precincts. So I think coordination for short-term construction projects and longer-term planning are ongoing and we would intensify them as and when necessary,” said Mr Lee.
He added that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) realised this amidst increasing the supply of BTO flats.
To address this serious issue, Mr Lee noted that the housing board, together with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and Land Transport Authority (LTA), will work to reduce the inconvenience to residents.
Over at Bukit Panjang, where eight housing projects are in the pipeline, some residents feel that more can be done.
Tommy Lin, Assistant Director of NTUC’s unit for casual and contract workers, said that the issue should be resolved pre-emptively, as they are already “receiving many complaints from residents here. The situation will be much worse once the BTOs are built”.
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