Rick Yeo, Director, Global Township of Surbana Jurong Consultants took the audience on a timeline journey, covering the history of the old Punggol District in the 1800s, the planned housing mix in 1996, through to the early 2000s when the first HDB precinct and public transportation network was built in this district.  He highlighted the influencing factors of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the 2003 construction industry slump and the extensive land reclamation work that re-shaped the district’s footprint.

Rick explained the purpose of Punggol Waterway, HDB’s first man-made waterway, which spans 4.2 kilometres across the eco-town to connect the Serangoon and Punggol rivers.  The promenade along the waterway gave rise to several communal amenities within a natural green environment with great biodiversity.  As residents moved into the district to live-work-play-learn, the waterfront town grew in vibrancy.  At only 65% of the planned 95,000 dwelling units completed today, we can expect to see this town being homes to more residents in the future.