SINGAPORE - Parents in Sengkang and Punggol can look forward to 1,000 childcare places by mid-2016, when two new large childcare centres are built. Each centre will be able to admit 500 children, and construction will start this month.

The centre in Sengkang will be run by NTUC First Campus's My First Skool, while the one in Punggol will be run by E-Bridge Pre-school. Both are anchor operators, which receive government grants in exchange for keeping fees low, among other criteria.

They will be open for registration in January next year, through the Early Childhood Development Agency's online registration management system at www.childcarelink.gov.sg.

Three more jumbo childcare centres, each with a capacity of 300 places, will be built in Jurong West, Woodlands and Yishun by end-2016. This is in addition to new childcare centres that are being pre-built alongside blocks of new flats to meet the needs of young families moving into these estates.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sengkang centre on Tuesday (Aug 11), Minister for Social and Family Development Tan Chuan-Jin said: "We understand the needs of parents with young children in these estates. We are working hard with local grassroots advisers and other government agencies to meet these needs."

An Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC) centre run by the Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA) will be co-located with the childcare centre at Sengkang. This EIPIC centre will serve up to 300 children with special needs.