Many projects need long-term planning to get done: DPM Heng
It is easy to take for granted how things get done in Singapore, but there are often constraints and issues to deal with, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on Jan 25.
These include finding the budget to fund projects, he added.
“I was finance minister for five years, and the constant challenge is that money is never enough – there are more things that we want to do,” DPM Heng observed.
“But we can all contribute our efforts, save up for the future. We will not only get what we want and what we need done, but in the process, we will also build a deeper bond of friendship and trust.”
The anchor minister for East Coast GRC made this point at the launch of the East Coast, Our Place To Bond exhibition on the sidelines of the Chinese New Year Carnival at Heartbeat@Bedok on Jan 25.
The exhibition highlighted what residents, grassroots volunteers and the five East Coast GRC MPs have achieved in recent years.
In his speech, DPM Heng observed that many public transport and public housing projects “take years of meticulous planning and strong determination to bring to fruition”.
For instance, the fruits of his Budget 2020 announcement on the expansion of the land transport network are only now showing, he noted.
Then, he had said Singapore will spend almost $100 billion over 10 years to enhance the network, with the construction of the Jurong Region Line, the first phase of the Cross Island Line and the completion of the Thomson-East Coast Line.
Today, construction of the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line are well under way, he said.
The Thomson-East Coast Line, which expands the MRT network into more parts of East Coast GRC and connects the area to Woodlands, is also almost completed – more than a decade since plans to construct the line were announced.
Bayshore station, which is in East Coast GRC, was opened in June 2024 when the fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line was completed. And Bedok South, Sungei Bedok and Xilin stations will open by 2026, DPM Heng said.
The existing East-West Line, which runs through the GRC, has also undergone a comprehensive upgrade, along with the North-South Line, he added.
“It took us about 10 years and a big budget,” he said. “But with careful long-term planning that this Government has been pursuing since Singapore’s independence, and with the support of all our residents who had to bear with some inconveniences, we got it done.”
On public housing, he said the Housing Board has launched more than 100,000 new flats to meet Singaporeans’ aspirations in the last five years. These include projects in the upcoming Bayshore estate, which was planned as an extension of Bedok town.
Expressing his excitement over the Bayshore development, DPM Heng said some residents have told him and other East Coast GRC MPs that they are looking forward to it as it means their children can live closer to them for mutual care and support.
Residents are also excited that they will enjoy new amenities and facilities near their existing homes, he said. “These projects take years of meticulous planning and strong determination to bring to fruition. More importantly, it shows that when we say we will do something, we do our best to get it done.”
East Coast GRC’s four other MPs also attended the Jan 25 event. They are Mr Tan Kiat How, who is Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and National Development, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Maliki Osman, Ms Jessica Tan and Ms Cheryl Chan.
They were with DPM Heng on stage as he was delivering the 12-minute speech, after joining more than 500 residents who gathered for a mass lohei (tossing of yusheng) event and to watch lion and dragon dance performances.
The constituency was hotly contested in the 2020 General Election, when the People’s Action Party and the Workers’ Party locked horns there for a fourth time. The ruling party eventually won with 53.39 per cent of the vote, significantly lower than the PAP’s overall vote share of 61.23 per cent.
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