Sengkang New Town - Etymology and History

Etymology and History

Sengkang means "prosperous harbour" in Chinese. The name comes from a road called Lorong Sengkang, off Lorong Buangkok. The area was formerly known as Kangkar (Gang Jiao 港脚) or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. Fishing villages and rubber, pepper and pineapple plantations flourished in the area in the old days.

Before the town was developed into a modern housing estate, the area was home to vegetable and pig farms, and tropical forests. The only public housing estate then was the Punggol Rural Centre, comprising a few low-rise residential blocks (blocks 1-5, 206 & 207) accommodating resettled farmers, located along Punggol Road. These blocks at the rural centre have since been demolished in 2005, to make way for future high-rise residential apartment blocks.

In 1994, an urban design team of 10 from HDB started conceptualisation for a new town in Sengkang. Sengkang was carved up into six neighbourhoods that will eventually house a total of 95,000 public and private housing units in the long term.

Sengkang's rich history became the theme for its future — Town of the Seafarer. Three neighbourhoods carry a marine sub-theme, while the other three will reflect the past when sprawling plantations covered parts of the area. The six neighbourhoods are planned to have names and colour schemes to go with their respective themes. Its past is today reflected in the design of its housing, seen in the three-storey pilotis or stilt effect that all the housing blocks have, reminiscent of the stilts of fishing villages and trunks of the various plantations of bygone years.

The town's first apartment blocks (known locally as flats) at Rivervale were completed in 1997. By August 2001, about 33,700 dwelling units have been completed. As at 31 March 2006, there are 384 HDB apartment blocks with 39,982 units in Sengkang New Town, comprising 16,017 four-roomers, 19,477 five-roomers and 4,488 executive flats.

In October 1999, a steering committee chaired by Dr Michael Lim, Member of Parliament for Cheng San Group Representation Constituency, was formed to look into providing sufficient amenities in Sengkang New Town, in view of feedback from residents. The Sengkang Town Development Steering Committee comprises grassroots leaders and the representatives of government agencies, and has four sub-committees taking care of town development, transportation, education, and social aspects. It coordinated and sped up the provision of town amenities, and completed its report on the need for facilities and services in the new town in July 2000.