Since Tengah’s first batch of home owners collected the keys to their flats last August, they’ve been living with terrible internet connection, construction works, blocked paths, lack of food options, mosquitoes, and more.
Reader: Why would the Government let people move in if Tengah is so… like that? Barely any food options, lack of facilities and amenities, bad connection… sounds like hell eh.
You see, if shop owners open shop in Tengah when there are only a handful of residents, they’ll go out of business very quickly. How to survive when there are no residents to be your customers?
This is why the Government has to wait for there to be a substantial amount of residents in Tengah before opening all these amenities.
And it seems, this number of residents has been hit as this year, the facilities they’ve been waiting for are finally here.
Plantation Plaza to Open in Tengah
Tengah was previously a military restricted area until 2015, when the site was reserved for future housing development as part of the Tengah Town.
This “forest town” is envisioned to become Singapore’s first smart and sustainable town with green features and smart technologies.
It seems the technology wasn’t so great seeing how many people complained about the centralised cooling system (kind of like aircon), but we trust it’s a work in process.
This Bishan-sized area located in the West near Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, and Jurong, will see its first neighbourhood centre in the second quarter of this year.
The neighbourhood centre, called Plantation Plaza, will have 75 shops across five floors providing residents with retail and dining options.
These shops will open progressively, starting with a supermarket operated by Giant and a Koufu food court.
This comes as relief to residents in Tengah as they’ve been complaining about the lack of amenities in Singapore’s newest town.
HDB previously said that in a new town like Tengah, the amenities and major transport facilities would take sometime to build up, unlike new flats built within existing towns.
Because the amenities would take a while to build up, HDB had put in place interim measures like a mobile grocery truck service and vending machines. More bus services were also introduced to help residents get around.
Plantation Plaza will be integrated with a new Build-to-Order (BTO) project called Plantation Village, which was completed in January, being the third Tengah BTO project to be completed.
Plantation is one of the five districts that will be built in Tengah Town. Each district will have its own unique features, and Plantation district’s is waterfront housing as well as a community farmway.
There will be a retail street extending from Plantation Plaza, which will run along Block 127A to 126A of Plantation Village, providing residents with fully sheltered pedestrian access from their homes to the future MRT station along the Jurong Region Line (JRL).
The JRL is Singapore’s seventh MRT line, and will put 60,000 more households in Jurong within a 10-minute walk from a train station.
Stage 1, featuring 10 stations, is expected to be completed in 2027, while Stage 2, featuring seven stations, is slated to be completed in 2028. The third and final stage in 2029 will add seven more stations, extending the JRL into Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and towards the Jurong Pier.
Sounds like it will be easier for the flocks of NTU tourists and visitors to get there.
“The retail street is flanked by the Plantation Farmway, a green connector which will weave through the housing precincts and connect the community and recreational facilities within the district,” HDB added.
“Residents can also look forward to more social communal amenities along the Farmway, such as thematic children’s playgrounds, an adult fitness corner, elderly fitness corner, multi-purpose court and landscaped seating area.”
HDB said the stretch of the Plantation Farmway located between Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange BTO projects will be completed by April, while the stretch between Plantation Village and Plantation Grove will open by the second half of this year.
HDB mentioned that the construction of the neighbourhood centre, Plantation Plaza ,was timed to be completed at about the same time as the four BTO precincts around it.
“Similar to other neighbourhood centres, the upcoming Plantation Plaza will be completed after some critical mass of residents has built up, to ensure business viability for retailers,” HDB said.
“To support the businesses during their initial tenancy period while the residential catchment grows in Tengah, HDB will offer new shop tenants staggered rent discounts.”
On top of Plantation plaza, work on a residents’ network centre and a preschool are expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
The preschool will be operated by one of the Early Childhood Development Agency’s Anchor Operators, and is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of this year.
It seems Tengah won’t be “hell” to live in anymore. In fact, from the artist impressions of Tengah Town, it looks like it’s about to be one of the prettiest places to live in in Singapore.
