THE waterfront promenade coming up at Punggol Point will be a new sea sports and recreation centre with rustic seaside dining venues.

THE waterfront promenade coming up at Punggol Point will be a new sea sports and recreation centre with rustic seaside dining venues.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday unveiled the design proposals for the waterfront and park, which will add to the leisure amenities in the north-eastern part of Singapore.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean gave residents of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC a snapshot of the development plans for the Punggol Waterfront Promenade at the constituency’s Family Day festivities yesterday.

A 4.9-kilometre promenade will be built to connect two proposed sports and recreation clusters at Punggol Point and along Sungei Serangoon. It will also be linked to new park connectors planned by the National Parks Board (NParks) along Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon.

Residents will be able to walk the entire stretch of the Punggol coastline from Sengkang Park to Punggol Park. The 4.9-km walk will comprise three thematic zones - Punggol Point Walk, Nature Walk and Riverside Walk.

Construction, estimated to cost $13 million, will begin in the middle of next year and is expected to be completed by 2010. It will be funded by URA and the project will be handed over to NParks for maintenance. URA said that it does not intend to close off the area from public use during construction.

Punggol Point was identified as one of the coastal areas with rustic charm in the URA’s Parks and Waterbodies and Identity Plans that were drawn up in 2002. The Punggol coastline is currently interrupted by several drainage outlets with no continuous pathway for public access to the waterfront.

Punggol Point is currently a popular venue for activities like fishing and camping. Among new amenities coming up will be a lotus pond and a 0.6-hectare park. There will also be a horse-riding centre and food and beverage hub at Punggol Point. The site for the horse-riding centre has been awarded recently while the site for the dining development has been put on the Reserve List in the Government Land Sales Programme, up for bids by interested developers.

‘More attractions will be built when the remaining land parcels are successfully tendered out,’ Mr Teo, who is an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC and adviser to the town council, said yesterday.

URA invites feedback from the public on the Punggol Waterfront Promenade before construction begins.



Source: Business Times 19 Nov 07