SINGAPORE: Residents moving into new large-scale Build-to-Order (BTO) estates will soon have earlier access to cooked food, groceries, childcare and bus services, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling said in parliament on Wednesday (Mar 4).
The improvements follow recommendations from the multi-agency BTO Coordination Committee, which was set up in mid-2024 to improve the move-in experience of new residents at new large-scale Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates.
“Every estate is different and there can be project-specific issues that cause some variation. However, with the basic principles established, we can strive towards achieving these standards for new large-scale BTO estates, and can improve the move-in experience for our residents,” Ms Sun said.
Large-scale BTO estates refer to estates with clusters of more than 3,000 new BTO flats completed within five years. These typically comprise clusters of three or four BTO projects.
“Unlike BTO projects in more developed towns with existing neighbouring amenities within reach, residents moving into new large-scale BTO estates typically have fewer existing amenities around them at the outset,” HDB and the Ministry of National Development (MND) noted in a joint media release.
The recommendations will be progressively implemented. New large-scale BTO estates that are under construction will benefit from some measures where possible, while estates in the planning phase can get the full suite of enhancements.
In 2023, new residents at Tengah complained about limited public transport options and the lack of amenities, CNA reported.
The committee, led by MND and HDB, includes the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the National Environment Agency (NEA), the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the People’s Association.
