Punggol

Punggol is a neighborhood in northeastern Singapore. Presently, much of Punggol is unpopulated, although plans to turn the area into a residential new town under the "Punggol 21" initiative have begun to take place in the South-eastern parts of the area bordering neighbouring Sengkang. Because much of the area is undeveloped compared to other areas of Singapore, it is one of the focal points where the HDB would attempt to increase housing capacity. This would be pivotal given Singapore's lack of space.

Punggol is also spelt as "Ponggol", as evidenced in the existence of several road names carrying that name.

History

During the Second World War, about 400 Chinese civilians were massacred by the Japanese mlitary forces at Punggol Point, the northern tip of the area, in what was to be known as the Punggol Beach Massacre as part of the Sook Ching purge. Today, that location has been marked as a national heritage site.

In the 1970s to early 1990s, Punggol was used for agriculture and there were a number of pig farms located there.

Transportation

Urban development into the area has been accelerated with the introduction of better transportational options. The Tampines Expressway links up the area with the expressway network. In terms of public transport, the opening of the North-East Line, the Punggol LRT Line in January 2005, and a temporary bus interchange adjacent to the Punggol MRT Station was a great improvement over what was once a single bus route, SBS Transit's Service 82, to the area along Punggol Road.

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