Clementi residents can expect better drainage and improved surroundings at Sungei Pandan Kechil, which runs through the estate.

The plan to enhance the area was announced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr S. Iswaran, at a neighbourhood carnival organised by West Coast Ville Residents' Committee on Sunday.

"If you remember, last year because of a particularly heavy rainfall we had some flooding," said Mr Iswaran. "We have been working with the PUB to...see what we can do so that the flooding does not happen again."

Works to improve drainage as well as to build facilities like gathering decks and a new jogging and cycling track along Sungei Pandan Kechil will start this month. The project is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2017.

The upgrading works are being carried out under the Public Utilities Board's Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters programme, a nationwide project to improve Singapore's waterways.

About 600m of the canal between West Coast Road and the Ayer Rajah Expressway will be widened and deepened. A stretch of a covered drain leading to the canal will also be upgraded as part of the plan.

Mr Iswaran, who is MP for West Coast GRC, also briefly ran through the healthcare benefits of the Pioneer Generation Package announced earlier this year. He said: "The purpose of this is to give our pioneer generation citizens peace of mind, because many of them are concerned about health and the cost of healthcare."