New park opens in the west after 12-year wait

Minister commends residents' involvement in planning of the 5-ha Choa Chu Kang Park, which retains a forest patch left by early settlers

By LEA WEE

ANOTHER park has opened in the western part of Singapore after a break of 12 years.

Choa Chu Kang Park is the first to open in the west since Bukit Batok Nature Park opened in 1988.

The park has packed within its 5 ha of land a children's playground, an amphitheatre, fitness stations, jogging trails and nci taiqi mtr corners.

It has also retained a small patch of forest and wild orchard left by the early settlers.

Developed at a cost of about $2.8 million, the park's opening brings the total number of regional parks in the west to nine and, on the whole island, to 43.

At the launch of the park yesterday, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan commended grassroots leaders and residents for their active involvement in the planning of the park.

Under the National Parks Board's Adopt-A-Park Scheme, students from the neighbouring Chua Chu Kang, Regent and Unity secondary schools started to plant about 100 native trees, and grow herbs and spices in the park a few months ago.

Mr Mah pointed out that a 1997 survey showed that over 85 per cent of the public felt that living in a ""Garden City'' has enhanced the quality of their lives.

In another survey, parks were ranked after food centres as the second most popular public facility.

Regional parks, together with neighbourhood parks, now take up about 2,600 ha or 4 per cent of Singapore's total land area.

Mr Mah said that while it will be good to have more green spaces in Singapore, given the limited space of Singapore, the Government has to be mindful of other needs.

As an example, he pointed out that some space intended for the Choa Chu Kang park had to be given to school and housing.

But the park has tried to retain the rich history of the area, he added.

Before the early settlers moved in, the area was a primary jungle.

It was the place where the last tiger in Singapore was shot in the 1930s.

After the settlers moved in, land was cleared for rubber, pineapple and coconut plantations, along with vegetable and poultry farms.

Today, visitors to the park can still see a well and a small patch of orchard and forest left by the old settlers.

Unfortunately, they may also smell the poultry farms in the distance, but it will not be for long.

The National Parks Board said it will be planting fragrant plants to cover any odour.

Choa Chu Kang resident Kelvin Chan, 35, however, has only good things to say about the new park.

Said the engineer, who grew up in a kampung in Lim Chu Kang:

""It is wonderful to see all the familiar kampung trees again.''