Underground bus interchange, air-conditioned and to complete by 2019

I have been to Singapore 6 times within the past 3 months. One thing that has never failed to amaze me is the maximisation of every piece of land and yet managed very well. Construction sites are always well covered and you do not see or feel the dust even when you walk past some of them. I took the MRT around Singapore and found it to be convenient enough for anyone who wants to get to anywhere they want even if one end to the other would still take considerable time. Today, I read in PropertyGuru about a future plan which will maximise a vast former cemetery grounds in Bidadari. Singapore will be bulding an underground bus interchange and it will be ready in 2019.
This interchange will be located next to the Woodleight MRT station, flanked by blocks of flats and will be hidden from street view. For the dwellers there this is a very good convenience because the bus interchange is right at their door step. Majority of Singaporeans do not drive. Of course, everything would have its advantages as well as the disadvantages. According to property expert Ku Swee Yong, the underground facility would create more noise and air pollution and the maintenance and construction cost would certainly be higher. Added to this would be the higher electricity bill for air-conditioning. Besides this, the HDB blocks would also be fitted with eco-friendly features such as staircases with LED lights and even elevators powered partially by the lifts’ own movement, much like the hybrid cars of today.
Personally, the most amazing thing about this is that this new site would house 10,000 HDB flats and also 1,000 private houses. While I would not say that HDB flats are comparable to my current condo but I have stayed in my friend’s HDB flats and I can say that the maintenance is good and the important thing is that there are lots of convenience nearby like food courts, small shops or even neighbourhood malls. I seriously feel that perhaps one plot of land in Malaysia which is connected to MRT can be built using the same model. There is no need to reinvent, just innovate from whatever other countries are already doing better. Of course, perhaps not flats because majority of Malaysians of today shy away from flats. Perhaps a medium cost apartments with facilities would be great.
written on 3rd Sept 2014
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Comments

  1. […] years ago, kopi and property featured this article: Singapore’s Underground Plan. Here’s the follow-up Article in FreeMalaysiaToday.com […]

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