1. Tonight we launch the Main Upgrading Programme for Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 Precinct.

2. Every upgrading launch is a special event, because every precinct is unique. Each has its own feel and character, its own spirit of community formed over the years through many shared experiences of the residents.

3. The Government launched the Upgrading Programme to renew and rejuvenate the ageing HDB towns. At first, residents reacted cautiously. HDB too was uncertain whether upgrading would be technically feasible. Residents would have to put up with many inconveniences – noise, dust and physical discomfort – for the period of upgrading.

4. But once the first few projects succeeded, residents all over Singapore responded enthusiastically. They know that upgrading is a good thing. It improves existing facilities and adds new ones. Your precinct will have a brand new look, with better façade designs and landscaped walkways and courtyards. And if you vote for the space adding item, you will have more space within your flat. The value of your flats will go up.

5. However, the Upgrading Programme is not just about improving the physical environment. It is also about community and people. It helps you to continue staying together with friends and neighbours whom you have got to know over the years, and at the same time enjoy greatly improved living amenities.

6. Since the Upgrading Programme was launched in 1990, we have announced 85 precincts all across Singapore, of which 35 have been completed. This year we slowed down and announced only 5 precincts, because of the regional economic crisis, which affected the Government’s revenues. Now the economy is picking up again. If the recovery continues steadily, and government finances can afford it, then we will step up the Upgrading Programme next year.

7. Ours is one of the MUP projects HDB is doing this year. HDB, the Ang Mo Kio Upgrading Working Committee, and the private architects have worked hard over past few months to put together the best possible upgrading package for you. This exhibition will allow you to see for yourself what exactly we plan to do, how much it will cost you, and how you and your family will benefit.

8. I have studied the upgrading package, which is a good and sound one. If you visit friends living in other upgraded precincts in Ang Mo Kio, you will have some idea of what this precinct will be like after upgrading. It will look completely different. Where you now see plain, open spaces, we will have beautifully landscaped gardens. We will have new amenities, including an amphitheatre and a precinct pavilion. You can use these spaces for community functions and informal gatherings of family and friends.

9. We are also creating recreation facilities, such as a games court, a children’s playground, and a multi-purpose hard court. There will be a study corner for children, and a residents’ corner for older folk. Networks of pebbled paths and covered linkways will connect up the whole precinct, and improve overall access.

10. In your apartment blocks and individual flats, upgrading will transform the plain block facades and make them fresher and more attractive.

11. Within your flats, we will provide new tiling for your bathroom and toilet floors and walls, as well as other improvements. The space-adding item is a utility room. If you vote for this, you will be able to enjoy extra living space. I encourage you to do so, because families living in other upgrading precincts have found the extra space good value for money. Some blocks which voted against it subsequently regretted their decision, but it was too late to change. So consider the matter carefully before you decide. The vote is final. Once you have voted, we will all have to abide by your choice.

12. I understand that some residents are worried about the cost of the upgrading costs. This is understandable, but I think you don’t have to worry too much about this. The Government has provided very generous repayment schemes, plus a large Government subsidy, so that you only pay a small part of the cost of the upgrading. So for example, a Singapore citizen living in a three-room flat who takes a 10-year loan will typically pay only $150 per month for the Upgrading Package, including the space-adding item.

13. The Government’s plan is to upgrade not just individual precincts, but entire new towns. The Estate Renewal Strategy for Ang Mo Kio was announced in June 1996. I remember telling residents then that in ten years’ time, Ang Mo Kio would be as good as, and in some ways better than, the newer towns.

14. In the three years since then, we have done much work in turning this dream into reality. All around in Ang Mo Kio there is a bustle of construction activity going on, both in the town centre as well as in the precincts. If you walk around the new town, you will see many new buildings, buildings with new facades, and completely new facilities.

15. We had identified 13 precincts for the Main Upgrading Programme. So far 6 or about half have been announced. One precinct was completed in 1996, three are in various stages of construction and two, including your precinct, will be polling soon.

16. 39 precincts are eligible for the Interim Upgrading Programme. Of these, 23 have been announced. 11 have been completed, 9 are in progress, and three are in the process of appointing the design consultant.

17. The Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme or SERS is also making good headway. So far, 11 blocks with a total of 1,736 flats have been identified for this programme. The first SERS replacement site, which is just across the road from here, will be completed by the end of this year. The remaining sites will be completed before end 2003. Support for the programme has been very strong. Almost 90 percent of the SERS lessees have registered for the SERS replacement flats.

18. The renewal programme for primary schools in Ang Mo Kio is well underway. Phase 1 of the programme has started, with four new primary schools already under construction. Three will be completed by December 99, and the fourth by December 2000.

19. The town centre itself will also undergo rejuvenation. The replacement blocks for the SERS project at Blk 454 and 455 Ave 10 are under construction. We also have plans to develop commercial and office space, as well as more residential units, at the town centre. This will enhance the economic and commercial value of Ang Mo Kio, and generate more jobs and business opportunities. But this will take longer, because the amount of floor space will be very large – more than 100,000 square metres. We have to pace out the developments, so that the market can absorb it.

20. All these changes in Ang Mo Kio show that the Government is carrying out what it promised before the last elections. Ang Mo Kio of the future will be a revitalised new town, more dynamic and vibrant than before. Tonight, by voting for the Upgrading Programme for your precinct, you will be helping to bring this vision to full reality.

21. I now launch the Main Upgrading Programme for Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 Precinct.

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