Lift upgrading for six blocks in Hougang

The first six blocks in Hougang picked for the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) are Blocks 351, 352, and 354 to 357 in Hougang Avenue 7.

The opposition ward's People's Action Party (PAP) grassroots adviser Eric Low disclosed this at a community event yesterday, adding that seven Hougang precincts have been identified for the LUP.

On Friday, PAP grassroots adviser Sitoh Yih Pin named nine blocks in opposition ward Potong Pasir which have been selected for the programme.

Blocks picked for the LUP will get lift landings on every floor. Owners of 442 units in the six blocks - mostly 25-year-old four-room flats - will have to decide whether to join the programme.

The two PAP advisers confirmed on Friday that a number of blocks in Potong Pasir and Hougang have been picked for the LUP.

Yesterday, Mr Eric Low said he had met Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang twice to discuss which precinct should get priority. They chose the Avenue 7 blocks as being more manageable for a first-time project.

Mr Eric Low said he expects the other six precincts to be covered in the next two to three years.

On why he is fronting the upgrading programme, he said it has been the practice, even in PAP wards, for the grassroots adviser to lead it. He stressed he was working with Mr Low Thia Khiang on the project and their working relationship was good: 'I believe my agenda and Low Thia Khiang's are the same - to serve the needs of the residents.'

He said the shorter LUP waiting time was not due to any impending election, adding: 'Since 2006, after the last election, this need for the LUP has not left me. As an adviser here, I know the needs... the blocks could well have people in their 50s and 60s, so a lift on every floor is very important.'

Source: Sunday Times, 4 Oct 2009