SINGAPORE — Tengah’s first neighbourhood centre is on track to open in the second quarter of the year, providing residents with retail and dining options.

The neighbourhood centre, called Plantation Plaza, will have 75 shops across five floors.

They will open progressively, starting with a supermarket operated by Giant and a Koufu food court, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Saturday (Mar 9).

Residents in Singapore’s newest town have been looking forward to more facilities since the first batch of home owners collected the keys to their flats last August. 

As the town was being developed, there had been grouses about blocked paths, as well as the lack of amenities and food options.

HDB previously said that in a new town like Tengah, the amenities and major transport facilities will take some time to build up, unlike new flats which are built within existing towns. 

The agency had put in place interim measures such as a mobile grocery truck service and vending machines. More bus services were also introduced.

The new neighbourhood centre will be integrated with a new Build-to-Order (BTO) project called Plantation Village which was completed in January. It is the third BTO project to be finished in Tengah.

A retail street will extend from the neighbourhood centre and run along Block 127A to 126A of Plantation Village.

It will provide residents with fully sheltered pedestrian access from their homes to the future MRT station along the Jurong Region Line.

“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.”

The stretch of the Plantation Farmway located between Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange BTO projects will be completed by April, said HDB, while the stretch between Plantation Village and Plantation Grove will open by the second half of this year. 

HDB said the construction of the neighbourhood centre 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,” the agency said, adding that the majority of shops are expected to be operational from mid-2024.

“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.”

In addition, work on a residents’ network centre and a preschool are expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. 

The preschool, to be operated by one of the Early Childhood Development Agency’s Anchor Operators, is projected to be operational in the fourth quarter, said HDB. 

When fully developed, Tengah is estimated to provide about 42,000 new homes over a land area of 700ha - about the size of Bishan town. CNA

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