HDB ends Main Upgrading Programme

Scheme has benefited 131,000 flats since 1990

By Daryl Chin, The Straits Times, 16 Apr 2012 

AFTER more than 20 years, the unprecedented plan to retrofit ageing public housing estates will draw to a close.

Come Saturday, it will be curtains down on the HDB's Main Upgrading Programme (MUP), with the most recently completed project in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10.

MUP has since spawned other smaller-scale upgrading programmes across the heartland, such as the Lift Upgrading, Home Improvement and Neighbourhood Renewal programmes.

MUP was started in 1990 to enhance the overall living environment of older HDB flats. Since then, it has benefited 131,000 households and cost the Government $3.3 billion.

The HDB told The Straits Times that stark changes in housing design and buying preferences lit the spark for MUP.

When the HDB began housing the nation in the 1960s, the objective then was to churn out as many homes as quickly as possible. The flats then were basic in design and spartan in features.

By the late 1980s, the HDB was building more well-appointed flats and estates. It became apparent that these newer flats were outshining their older cousins, and young families were opting for them. The HDB said: 'Against this backdrop, the Government mooted the idea of upgrading older HDB estates to bring older estates on a par with newer ones.'

Rejuvenating the older neighbourhoods would also entice younger families to live in mature estates and boost community and family ties.

The MUP was designed with three prongs: First, on the precinct level, facilities such as carparks, porches, amphitheatres and sheltered walkways were upgraded. Second, on the block level, lift lobbies, letterboxes and the facades were improved. And third, some flats were retrofitted with a utility room of about 65 sq ft, bathrooms were upgraded, and new doors and grilles installed.

Whereas simple fitness equipment and jogging paths were provided in the early years of the scheme, the focus turned later to making estates barrier-free in anticipation of a greying population.

But before the works under MUP could kick up dust and noise, residents had to vote on whether they wanted it. The scheme was implemented only if 75 per cent of those eligible voted 'yes'.

Of the 130 precincts, each comprising five to 10 blocks, that went to the vote, only two precincts - Pandan Gardens and Pelton Place - voted it down.

While works such as the repair of spalling concrete and building of ramps in common areas were done free, features such as the extra utility room came at a subsidised rate.

Residents paid between 7 per cent and 64 per cent of total cost, depending on flat type and works done, in a move to encourage greater ownership of and responsibility for the living space, the HDB said.

Analysts say the scheme is largely a success, although not everyone had welcomed it. PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail said the naysayers included elderly residents who did not see the point in enhancing their homes, especially if they were already content with them.

But the utility room was particularly welcome, he said. 'Valuations are based on size, so that could be a 10 per cent increase for a home that's in a more marketable, rejuvenated estate.'

New Market Road resident Nah Tia Kee, 63, for example, is happy with the extra room that came through the MUP last year. The room is now his study.

His two-room flat can now fetch $400,000, way above the $18,000 he paid for it in 1986. 'I could sell this place if I wanted to, but the area is so nice now, so there's no reason to leave,' he said.

The HDB said estate renewal efforts will go on. The Lift Upgrading, Home Improvement and Neighbourhood Renewal programmes give residents a choice in what they want upgraded.