DPM Lawrence Wong at the Opening Ceremony of Limbang Shopping Centre

My Parliamentary Colleague Sim Ann,
Deputy CEO of HDB,
Fellow Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC Advisers,
Residents and friends
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very happy to join you today for the official opening of the revamped Limbang Shopping centre.

Let me continue with a few words in mandarin, before continuing in English later. 

各位女士们、先生们，大家早上好。下个星期就是农历新年了。我在这里先和大家拜个早年，祝大家龙马精神，身体健康， 万事如意

很高兴今天能为刚刚完成翻新的林邦购物中心进行开幕。

新的购物中心不但让人眼前一亮，商场内也有更多的商店，包括一个更大的NTUC超市和多样化的餐饮选择。超市、湿巴刹和食阁也都聚集在一楼，提供更便利的购物体验。此外，购物中心也有个新广场，可以举办各种活动。

我要借这个机会感谢建屋发展局、参与翻新计划的建筑师、基层志愿者，购物中心租户和居民。谢谢大家积极参与讨论，提供很多很好的建议，携手打造升级版的林邦购物中心。谢谢大家的付出和贡献， 谢谢你们。当然，我们不只是在林邦进行翻新。和林邦区一样，我们会确保其他比较成熟的社区继续保持活力，社区设施能继续满足居民的需要。

除了改善邻里设施，我们也会在其他方面为国人提供援助。上个月，我们推出了新一轮的500元CDC邻里购物券。这个月，符合资格的年长人士会获得高达300元的现金补助。另外，孩童和年长者也会获得高达150元的保健储蓄户头补贴。 再过两个星期，我们会推出我们2024年的财政预算案，所以到时候还会有新的措施帮助国人。

虽然新的龙年依然充满不确定性，世界仍然瞬息万变，但我相信只要我们继续团结一致，就一定能克服难关，把握良机，一起创造更美好的未来，更美好的新加坡。

Friends and residents, we are just about a month into 2024. I hope all of you have had a good start to the year. Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

a. It is a time for new beginnings. An opportunity to refresh and renew things in our lives.

b. That is why the opening of the new Limbang Shopping Centre – refreshed edition – marks an auspicious start to the year

Many residents would remember the original Limbang Shopping Centre, which first opened almost 30 years ago.

a. Was built around the same time as the Limbang estate.

b. Had a distinctive design inspired by our peranakan shophouses.

c. Back then, the only nearby alternative was Lot One and Yew Tee Square. But these were some distance away.

d. And that is why Limbang Shopping Centre, with its wet market, food court, and shops, has been an important fixture in our community – a place where you can get everyday necessities, located close to home.

After 30 years, the entire Shopping Centre was in need of a refresh.

a. Building was getting on with age

b. Lifestyles and preferences have also changed over the years.

So HDB decided to do a major upgrade.

a. Started planning for this as far back as 2017, collecting feedback and ideas from all of you.

b. In 2020, we commenced upgrading works. But COVID-19 struck and we all had to delay the construction.

Took some time, and led to some inconvenience. But now that everything is completed, I think you will agree it was all worth it.

a. Because in this upgraded, refreshed Limbang Shopping Centre, we have 50% more shops now, including a bigger NTUC Fairprice with a wider selection of groceries and household items.

b. Many of you had also asked for more food options. So we have more than doubled the number of F&B options.

c. We brought the supermarket, wet market and food court closer together – all on level 1 now – to make it more convenient for residents.

d. To encourage more community activities, we have a new community plaza for events.

Apart from that, in terms of design, it has a new, fresh modern look.

a. High ceiling, big ceiling fan, and new skylight – so the place is bright and airy.

b. Best-in-class in terms of energy efficiency.

c. Yet at the same time, it retained some of the elements of the original building, to help preserve the memories many residents have of this place.

I know many people were involved to make this new shopping centre a reality.

a. The entire team at HDB, architects, grassroots leaders and volunteers, tenants, and most importantly all of you, the residents, who gave us good feedback and ideas. Everyone working together to develop and upgrade Limbang Shopping Centre.

b. So let me thank all of you for your contributions.

This is not just about Limbang. If you look around Singapore, what we do here is a good example of how we keep our HDB estates all over Singapore vibrant and liveable. We work closely with the community, we systematically review and update our older estates.

a. For our neighbourhood centres like Limbang Shopping Centre, we upgrade them ever so often to keep them up to date.

b. This is happening all over Singapore.

• HDB recently completed upgrading works at nearby Sunshine Place (located at Choa Chu Kang Ave 3).

• More centres to be upgraded in the pipeline over the next few years, including Yew Tee Square, Fajar Shopping Centre, and Dawson Place, just to cite some examples. So it is a continual process of upgrading and making our shopping centres better.

c. Of course all of you will be familiar with other upgrading programmes, including the Home Improvement Programme for our homes, and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme for our larger neighbourhood.

Beyond that, we have even larger-scale rejuvenation plans for our older towns, under the Remaking our Heartlands (ROH) programme.

a. Choa Chu Kang town, which includes Limbang and Yew Tee, is covered in the latest round of ROH.

b. Announced the plans in Oct last year.

c. We want to provide more neighbourhood amenities, enhanced green spaces, and greater connectivity for residents in the whole of Choa Chu Kang.

d. Most notably, there will be a new polyclinic and hawker centre at an integrated development at Yew Tee. Over at Choa Chu Kang Town Centre, there will be another new hawker centre, a pedestrian mall, as well as the new Choa Chu Kang Station on the upcoming Jurong Region Line.

e. These will complement the many new amenities we have already been working on these past few years, e.g. the refreshed CCK Sport Centre, and the new SAFRA CCK at CCK Park nearby as well.

These are plans we continue to do, not just in Choa Chu Kang, but all over Singapore. These upgrading plans do not happen by chance. It is not as though overnight, things automatically get upgraded. They happen because of a commitment by the government to plan ahead, to deliver on our long-term planning. They happen because of the close partnership between the government and our many stakeholders, including community groups, businesses, and all the different partners we have on the ground. This is how, together, we continue to build Singapore – year in, year out – to make this little red dot better and more liveable.

a. HDB living will always be a key part of our Singaporean story.

b. I am confident that if we continue to work together, there remain many exciting things that we can do.

c. So let’s all do our part, working hand in hand, to build a better Singapore, and to make this truly a place we will always be proud to call home. Thank you very much and Happy New Year once again.

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