http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...rict-committee
Lawrence Wong to helm Jurong Lake District committee
It will study plans for the Jurong Lake District area to ensure its vibrancy and opportunities for jobs, learning and recreation, says DPM Tharman
By Lynette Khoo
[email protected]@LynetteKhooBT
20 Oct
A STEERING committee comprising members of the public and private sectors has been formed to oversee developments in the Jurong Lake District and its surrounding areas.
The 14-member committee will be headed by Lawrence Wong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Ministry of Communications and Information, said Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
He was speaking at a grassroots event on Sunday morning at Jurong Lake where over 700 Jurong residents had gathered to participate in a line-up of environmental conservation activities.
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Plans are afoot to give Jurong Lake District a fresh makeover with the development of Jurong Lake Gardens with a new Science Centre and other longer-term possibilities around the lake as announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech this year.
The Jurong Lake District has also been suggested as a possible site for the terminus of the proposed high-speed rail line between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
"Since the 2008 Master Plan, we have developed commercial and residential spaces at Jurong Gateway. Now, we are in a new phase of this transformation that will change the image of Jurong," Mr Tharman said.
The government is also studying further plans to improve the Jurong Lake District and its surrounding areas.
"One idea is to integrate the Pandan Reservoir area south of the AYE with Jurong Lake District to form a larger and more cohesive area," he said. "We could create new housing options for Singaporeans, near the waterfront and beautiful parks."
The government will also study how to improve accessibility between Jurong Lake District and surrounding residential and business nodes, Mr Tharman added. "For instance, we could make cycling a choice mode, with more dedicated cycling paths and park connectors, linking up Jurong and areas such as Pandan and Teban Gardens estates, Tengah New Town, Clean Tech Park, NTU and Bulim and Tengah industrial estates."
He noted that these are ambitious plans involving many agencies and requiring close partnership with the private sector and local community, which is why the steering committee is necessary.
Also in this committee are Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo, and Minister of State for National Development Desmond Lee, as well as executive director for Centre for Liveable Cities Khoo Teng Chye, Housing and Development Board CEO Cheong Koon Hean, and Koh Boon Hwee, who is chairman of several companies including Yeo Hiap Seng Ltd and Far East Orchard Ltd.
The committee will look at all the options, and gather ideas and feedback from the local community before the plans are finalised.
Over the next one to two years, it will study the plans for the areas in and around Jurong Lake District to ensure its vibrancy and opportunities for jobs, learning and recreation.
Early next year, NParks will be inviting the public to give ideas that will be incorporated into the brief for the masterplan design competition for Jurong Lake Gardens, slated to be bigger than Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
"The new Jurong Lake Gardens will not be developed in a rush," Mr Tharman said. "We will take care that it retains its special character."
The development will take place in phases over several years, starting with the completion of Jurong Lake Destination Park on the western shore of the lake in 2017.