Punggol: From pungent pig farms to hot new eco-town
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Punggol Point in 1986. Punggol Point was famous for its seafood, and people would travel there to tuck into seafood dishes in one of the three restaurants at the spot, amid the exhaust fumes from buses turning around at the end of the road. -- ST FILE PHOTO
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Punggol used to be home to pig farms but they were cleared out by 1989 as they were considered dirty and used too much land and water. -- ST FILE PHOTO
Punggol Point in 1986. Punggol Point was famous for its seafood, and people would travel there to tuck into seafood dishes in one of the three restaurants at the spot, amid the exhaust fumes from buses turning around at the end of the road. -- ST FILE PHOTO
Punggol used to be home to pig farms but they were cleared out by 1989 as they were considered dirty and used too much land and water. -- ST FILE PHOTO
Retired air force officer Y.C. Teo still remembers the days when his house used to stink. The 78-year-old has lived in a bungalow just off Old Punggol Road since the 1970s, when the area was populated by pig, chicken and fish farms.
"It was a horrible place," he said. "On rainy days, there would be a great stench. Nobody wanted to take a second look at the place."
These days, the farms are gone and Punggol is Singapore's hottest new estate. High-rise buildings have taken over the land that used to house the farms and their neighbouring attap- and zinc-roofed shophouses.
Phase two of plans to transform Punggol into a waterfront town was unveiled by the Housing Board on Tuesday. Public consultation began yesterday at the HDB Hub and will end on Oct 28.
