SINGAPORE: Seventeen Housing Board ( HDB) neighbourhoods will undergo upgrading works under the latest phase of the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme ( NRP ), Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Sunday ( Apr 6 ).
More than 25, 000 households are expected to benefit from the upgrading, which will cost over S$ 165 million ( US$ 123 million ).
The 17 initiatives form the 16th sample of the NRP, and for the first moment, include prevents built between 1996 and 1999. These jobs are located across Singapore, including in Bukit Panjang, Sembawang and Sengkang.
Upgrading works under the programme are tailored to residents ‘ feedback and may include block-level features such as residents ‘ corners and seating areas, as well as precinct-level amenities like covered linkways, drop-off porches, playgrounds and landscaping, said HDB and the Ministry of National Development ( MND ) in a press release.
The functions will be fully funded by the government and implemented by village councils, which may employ their own design experts and building contractors, as well as monitor the progress of the projects.
More than S$ 1.5 billion has been committed to 229 jobs since the NRP was introduced in 2007. As of the end of March 2025, 131 jobs had been completed, with the majority in different stages of implementation.
Speaking at a Community Build Day celebration in Toa Payoh, Mr Lee said potential NRP runs will add more senior-friendly services in line with the Age Also SG program. This includes medical gardens, health trials and wayfinding functions.  ,
To help these improvements, the expenditure per smooth under the NRP may improve from S$ 6, 100 to around S$ 6, 600, he added.