Nearly half of Tengah's 30,000 planned flats ready by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat

Close to 12,000 Housing Board flats in Tengah have been completed, comprising around 40 per cent of the 30,000 flats launched so far in the new town.

Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat gave this update on July 26 at HDB Community Day, adding that almost half of the planned 30,000 flats in Tengah will be completed by the end of 2025.

Speaking at Plantation Plaza in Tengah, Mr Chee said the planning of the new town gave residents opportunities to share ideas for the estate before moving in.

"We will continue to work together with our grassroots advisers and community leaders to listen to your views and your feedback as we build up the town. Learning from the positive experience, this is the approach we will also take for other new estates in the future," he said.

Since 2019, more than 6,500 Tengah home buyers from 22 precincts have given their feedback via HDB's Tengah Sensing surveys.

More than 13,000 Tengah residents have also provided insights and helped shape HDB's plans for the new town, said Mr Chee.

"For example, the sheltered linkways and cycling paths that we planned for Tengah were well received by many residents, who shared with us the importance of connectivity infrastructure.

"These features are integrated into the design of Tengah's transport routes, so residents can walk and cycle safely throughout the town," said the minister.

Noting residents' feedback on the need for more convenient access to amenities, Mr Chee said several key facilities have been developed, and more schools, places of worship and healthcare facilities will be built.

By end-2026, a total of eight new bus services will be introduced in Tengah and Brickland, he said, adding that two of them will begin operations by the end of 2025.

One of these is bus service 872, which will connect residents to the East-West Line at Chinese Garden MRT station from August 2025.

Mr Chee said the opening of Plantation Plaza means Tengah residents will have more access to food options and other necessities, with 69 out of 75 shops now open.

He said the remaining six shops are expected to be operational by this quarter.

Tengah's second neighbourhood centre, Parc Point, will begin operating in the first quarter of 2026, added the minister.

"Parc Point will be a vibrant hub, with a new polyclinic and over 40 shops offering a wide range of dining and retail options, all within convenient reach of Tengah Bus Interchange," he said.

While it is important to have good infrastructure in place, Mr Chee noted, a town is more than its buildings and hardware alone. "It is the residents, it is the people, who are living here and use the facilities, who call this home and bring this town Tengah to life."

One such Tengah resident was 16-year-old Phoebe Tan, who received the Friends of Our Heartlands award on July 26 for her contributions to the new town.

She was part of the team of volunteers who launched School's Out, Fun's In @ Tengah, a programme held in November 2024 that transformed void decks in Tengah into stations with games such as hopscotch.

Phoebe, a secondary school student who lives in Tengah with her parents and two siblings, said: "We organised it in such a way that each void deck had one station game, so residents could familiarise themselves with different parts of Tengah as they played the games."

She added: "I don't think anyone is ever too young to start on something they are passionate about. For me, I wanted to be caring and do something for this community."

Tengah resident Madhavan Ramakrishnan, 34, a piping designer, also took home the Friends of Our Heartlands award. He was among the volunteers who created a life-size version of Snakes And Ladders for residents at HDB Community Day.

The game includes tips on how to be good neighbours, he said, such as reminders to be considerate by keeping public spaces clean. Mr Ramakrishnan moved to Tengah in 2024 with his wife, who is now pregnant, and their four-year-old daughter.

He said: "I just wanted to help Tengah grow into a community, and let my kids grow up in a neighbourly home."