uhh.. what the hell for??
HDB to construct a 5.5 km man-made river in
Punggol
SINGAPORE : Residents of Punggol can look forward to more water
activities in the future.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is set to build a man-made
river in Punggol from 2009.
The 5.5-kilometre Punggol Waterway will run through stepped-up
homes, the Punggol MRT station and an upcoming town centre.
Residential units, both private and public, will be built just 10
metres away from each side of the river.
One of the key icons along the waterway will be a commercial and
residential development.
The site for this is expected to be sold within the next five
years. It will sit next to the widest stretch of the man-made
river, and will be home to residential units, al fresco dining and
shops.
Besides being next to the MRT station, it might even be served by
river taxis.
The Punggol Waterway will connect two rivers - Sungei Serangoon and
Sungei Punggol - and discharge excess water out of the area.
PUB is already constructing dams at the mouths of the rivers for
two new reservoirs expected to be up and running by 2009.
Punggol Waterway will be about 3-9 metres deep and 20-50 metres
wide.
To build it, HDB will dig deep into the existing land, but retain
the soil to construct a man-made natural water bed.
Chua Kok Eng, principal engineer at the Building Tech Department at
HDB says: "We have built many canals previously, and their function
is to drain away water as fast as possible. For this case, we want
to retain the water because it forms part of the reservoir, so
we're looking for more environmentally-friendly and green form of
construction.
"We're going to re-use the soil. The river bank will be planted
with landscaping and plants for a greener environment and residents
will be able to enjoy waterfront living."
Punggol Waterway is expected to be completed by 2014.
Once finished, it will be managed by PUB.
HDB is currently studying the costs and technical details of
building the waterway.
(source:
CNA)
