Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

My parliamentary colleagues

Grassroot leaders and residents

Ladies and gentlemen

Clementi Town was developed in the mid-1970s, some 25 years ago. Many of you have been living here since the town started and have watched it grow into a vibrant and popular estate. Today, Clementi is a much sought-after estate because of its excellent location, the full range of facilities available and convenient transport links. Credit must go to the Town Council for the high standard of maintenance and regular estate improvements. And also to all our grassroot leaders for providing the social glue to build a strong community.

In the last 5 years, we have undertaken several major improvement projects in Clementi. You can see the results around you. Interim upgrading, main upgrading, Selective En-bloc Redevelopment. All these projects are part of the Estate Renewal Strategy or ERS for Clementi Town. Today, we are happy to present these results as well as our plans for the next 5 to 10 years in an exhibition. The theme of the exhibition is "Clementi - Upgrading Our Community Together". Let me now highlight some key programmes.

Clementi Town Centre will be given a major facelift that will turn it into a modern hub. A new bus interchange will be built and integrated with Clementi MRT.

The new development will also house a new library, the HDB Clementi Branch Office and Town Council Office above the new bus interchange.

HDB will also build new flats at the town centre to inject life into the heart of Clementi. There will be more business opportunities for the commercial facilities here. Your town centre will be more bustling than ever.

Over the years, the Government has added or upgraded social, community and health facilities to better meet your needs. Recently, the Ministry of Health upgraded Clementi Polyclinic at a cost of $1.9 million. The polyclinic now provides new services such as a retail pharmacy, x-ray and mammogram services.

To strengthen community ties, the Clementi Community Club was upgraded at a cost of $1.8 million. Residents now enjoy a theatrette, IT training room, before and after school care, and a rooftop terrace. We are also upgrading the West Coast Community Club at a cost of $3.2 million. When completed this August, the Club will feature new attractions, including a cafe, children’s playgroup, IT room, gymnasium, seminar hall and dancing room.

Our senior citizens will benefit from other new facilities coming up. At West Coast Drive, the Jamiyah Nursing Home is fast taking shape and is expected to be ready this September. It will be well equipped with rehabilitative facilities to provide residential nursing care for the elderly. There will also be a new private nursing home off Clementi Avenue 5 in Year 2003.

To meet the needs of families, the Ministry of Community Development and Sports, and Tanjong Pagar CDC, have provided new centres for child care, student care and day care for senior citizens. Family Service Centres are also set up as neighbourhood-based focal points for residents to turn to, on family-related matters.

The Estate Renewal Strategy also involves the ongoing upgrading of old HDB blocks. More precincts are eligible for the Main or Interim Upgrading Programme. Residents will benefit from improvements to their flats and better facilities in their precincts. This means you get to stay on in a place you are familiar with, and keep the strong ties you have built up with one another.

To revitalise Telok Blangah, HDB will build 2,500 new flats in Telok Blangah Heights in phases, with the first phase starting in 2003. In this way, the land use in this mature estate is intensified. And the new homes can plug into existing facilities and infrastructure.

Another major change is the redevelopment of schools by the Ministry of Education under its Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools, or PRIME in short. This program is being implemented in five phases, over seven years from 1999 to 2005. The new school buildings will feature computer laboratories, media resource libraries, IT learning resource rooms, pastoral care rooms and health and fitness rooms. Students and teachers can also look forward to bigger classrooms and staff-rooms, and more interaction areas, for a more conducive learning environment.

Under PRIME, a new school building is being built to house Clementi Primary School, which is the merger of Clementi North Primary and Clementi Town Primary. It will be completed next December. Another primary school, Nan Hua, is being upgraded and is scheduled to complete at about the same time.

There have been regular improvements made to the road and MRT network. At Dover, we are all looking forward to the opening of the Dover MRT Station around the 4th Quarter this year. This modern three-storey MRT Station is brought to you at a cost of $42 million. It is the first MRT station to be built on an existing MRT line, between the Buona Vista and Clementi Stations, without disruption to the existing train services.

Over the years, the Town Council has been actively carrying out improvement works. Such as the linking up of pedestrian routes, upgrading of markets and hawker centres, and the addition or upgrading of playgrounds. There is more in the pipeline, such as the building of pavilions and barbecue pits to foster greater interaction among residents.

I have just given you a glimpse of the new future for this town. As you can see, with all these exciting changes, Clementi will be transformed, and you will enjoy a higher quality of life without having to move to a newer town.

Beyond the physical improvement works and new facilities, the ERS is about strengthening our community. One where residents can continue to have a sense of community kinship, and live harmoniously with one another.

To this end, I am pleased to announce that starting this year, the MPs and grassroot leaders in West Coast GRC will organise a charity golf tournament once every two years to help raise funds for community projects in West Coast GRC. This year our target is to raise $120,000. The funds raised will be allocated to the Jamiyah Half-Way House, Henderson Moral Welfare Home, Clementi West Eldercare Centre, Rotary FSC, Clementi and West Coast Student Service Centre, and Heart Friends and Pasir Panjang BASC Centre. Each organisation will receive between $5,000 and $10,000 each. The remaining funds will be allocated to the Welfare Funds of each CCC.

Ladies and gentlemen, our aim is to renew Clementi in order to serve your needs and interests. The result would be a town you can continue to take pride in, and be proud to call your home. Together, we can upgrade the Clementi community.

It is now my pleasure to declare the ERS exhibition open.

_________________