By Kenny Chee

THE Housing Board has set up two new units that will look into improving the living experience of HDB flat dwellers.

At a press conference last Friday, HDB said that it has set up a new community-relations department that will come up with ways of strengthening social bonds among residents in the heartland.

It has also established the HDB Building Research Institute, which will study new technologies to make HDB projects more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

Both units were established on Sept 1, to help meet HDB's tasks in the near future.

One of the major tasks from next year is helping flat residents go beyond mere home ownership to having a sense of belonging to their community, said Mr Tay Kim Poh, HDB's chief executive.

'We hope that they can...be actively involved in the running and management of the community,' he said.

He said that HDB took this task 'very seriously', adding that it will also look into integrating newcomers into the HDB environment.

Another challenge for HDB: Remaking and upgrading older housing estates.

Noting that nearly a third of HDB flats were built before the 1980s, Mr Tay said that HDB is looking at giving a new lease of life to more estates, such as Yishun's town centre, which will be getting an air-conditioned bus interchange.

The board's new building-research institute will come in handy by carrying out research and development in this aspect.

It will also study technologies that can enhance sustainable development and reduce maintenance costs for HDB developments.

HDB also gave other updates on its progress for its last financial year from April last year to March this year.

It recorded a $2-billion deficit, about two times more than the previous year's.

This was caused mainly by the awarding of more building contracts and higher construction costs experienced in the earlier part of last year, before costs dropped following the downturn. HDB also said that the number of rental-flat applicants fell from 4,500 in February to 3,400 in September, following the tightening of rental rules.

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