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Rochor Centre area to make way for North-South Expressway

Residential areas and shops mainly at the Rochor centre have been earmarked to make way for the construction of the new North-South Expressway (NSE).

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Tuesday unveiled the full alignment for the 21.5km long expressway, which includes new details on the southern segment.

Earlier in January, it announced the alignment for the northern segment of NSE between Admiralty Road West and Toa Payoh Rise.

To complete the project, the government will have to acquire four blocks of HDB flats, 187 rental shops and eating houses at the Rochor Centre as well as 21 private properties which will have part of their plots acquired.

Since Tuesday noon, land acquisition notices have been given out and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has gazetted the areas affected by the acquisition. In the next few weeks, SLA will get in touch with those affected.

LTA said that affected residents will be offered relocation benefits similar to those under the Selective En Block Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), with HDB building 810 units of new flats at Kallang as replacement housing.

Meanwhile, private property owners affected by a full, or partial acquisition of their property will also receive assistance from the government.

Shops and eating houses will be given a 10 per cent preferential discount off the monthly rental rates when they successfully tender or are assigned to take over other HDB rental commercial properties.

Tenants, who fulfilled the eligibility criteria – which means they took over the premises by tender before 4 March 1999 or by assignment before 1 June 1999 – will also be given around $30,000 in assistance when relocating to alternative premises. They will also be given an ex-gratia payment of around $60,000.

Also affected will be the Nanyang Pho Leng Association, which was first set up in 1970 for the Teochew clan association and has more than 1,000 members. LTA said it will assist the association in their purchase of and relocation to a replacement property.

 


The new expressway which runs parallel to the Central Expressway (CTE) will connect towns along the north-south corridor, namely Woodlands, Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan and Toa Payoh, with the city centre.

With new developments in the north and north-eastern parts of the country, the NSE will be able to meet the projected growth in traffic in those areas, said LTA. It will also help to reduce traffic in the CTE as well as nearby major road such as Thomson Road and Marymount Road.

The NSE is also expected to slash commuting time between the north and city centre by up to 30 per cent during peak hours.

Presently, the time taken to travel between Yishun and the city is an estimated 30 to 35 minutes but with the NSE, the same journey will take around 20 to 30 minutes. Similarly, a trip from Bishan to the city will take around 10 to 15 minutes as compared to the current 15 and 20 minutes.

Upon announcing the alignment for the northern segment of NSE in January, LTA said close to 40 lots and more than 30 part lots of land will be acquired. These areas comprise buildings such as the Orange Valley Nursing Home and Gooh Shepherd Chapel.

Construction works for the country’s 11th expressway is due to be completed by 2020, and will start at a progressive pace from 2013 while major road works will begin in 2015.