HDB to launch 17,000 BTO flats in 2021, including in Bidadari, Queenstown and Geylang

[SINGAPORE] About 17,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched in 2021, keeping the supply of new flats in line with what was launched this year.

However, given the economic uncertainty due to Covid-19, the Housing Board will monitor the housing market closely and calibrate flat supply if required, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee in a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 21).

A total of 16,752 BTO flats were launched across three sales exercises this year.

Typically, the HDB holds four BTO sales exercises in a year but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the May BTO exercise was deferred and combined with the August BTO exercise.

Next year, new flats will be offered in mature estates such as Geylang, Kallang/Whampoa, Bidadari estate in Toa Payoh and Ulu Pandan estate in Queenstown.

Non-mature estates such as Bukit Batok, Tengah and Woodlands will also see new flats, to offer flat buyers "a wide range of options to choose from", said Mr Lee.

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This includes Singapore's first assisted living public housing for seniors in Bukit Batok, which will be launched next February.

These 160 flats, which are expected to be completed in 2024, come with a mandatory service package to support seniors who wish to live on their own and yet enjoy some care, support and communal activities.

Many of the upcoming public housing developments will incorporate features such as electric vehicle-ready carparks, smart LED lighting in common areas that dims when there is little human traffic and smart pneumatic waste conveyance systems, which sends household waste through an enclosed underground pipe network to a centralised bin centre, said Mr Lee.

These features are part of HDB's new road map called Designing for Life that will guide the designing and planning of HDB towns and flats for the next decade or so.

"Home owners can look forward to features which will help make our towns and estates more liveable, efficient, sustainable and safe," said Mr Lee.

Greenery will continue to be a big part of public housing developments.

"In coming up with the housing plans, HDB has engaged and taken in the feedback of various partners, including nature groups, to try and strike a balance between conservation and developmental needs," said Mr Lee.

For the first time in 14 years, new BTO flats were launched in the mature estate of Bishan across two housing projects and both were heavily oversubscribed.

The first batch of BTO flats were also launched in Tengah's newest Park district, as the "forest town" continues to take shape.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the completion dates of several BTO projects were also delayed between six and nine months.

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