PARK CONNECTORS

PARK CONNECTORS

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(Update on progress of implementation): **

31.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for National Development if he will update the House on the progress made in the implementation of park connectors in Singapore and what are the plans to expedite its implementation.

Column: 1083

Mr Mah Bow Tan: In the Parks and Waterbodies Plan of 2002, MND announced that 170 km of park connectors will be built by 2015. NParks has since developed 74 km, including the 10 km coast-to-coast connector, linking Pasir Ris Park to East Coast Park. Another 25 km of park connectors are currently under construction.

Park connectors are a key component of our plan to make Singapore a “City-in-a-Garden”. They will link up our parks and green spaces to create the sense that we live, work and play in one big garden. Besides enhancing the accessibility to our parks, park connectors are in themselves venues for recreational and healthy lifestyle activities. In view of their strategic value and usefulness, we have decided to accelerate the development of an island-wide park connector network.

NParks will double its development pace from the current 9 km per year to about 20 km per year, and complete 200 km of park connectors by 2012. In the development plan, NParks will focus on creating seven major loops, with multiple access points located close to population centres. These loops will route through major estates such as Bukit Batok, Pasir Ris, Bedok, Tampines, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Yishun, and Punggol. There are also plans to subsequently link up these loops to form a complete network.