Sungei Api Api and Sungei Tampines get an ABC Waters makeover

Singapore, 25 August 2013: Pasir Ris residents and nature lovers can look forward to an enhanced riverfront experience at their doorsteps from 2015 when Sungei Api Api and Sungei Tampines will undergo a makeover under PUB’s Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme. 

Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project on Sunday evening.

At a 900m section of Sungei Api Api, between Tampines Expressway and Pasir Ris Drive 3, PUB will create a unique urban waterfront experience by enhancing the natural environment. 

Existing mangroves will be preserved, while additional plantings and creepers along the canal walls will enhance the greenery. 

ABC Waters design features such as cleansing biotopes and rain gardens will also be incorporated to cleanse stormwater runoff before it is discharged into the waterway. 

Educational signage to inform visitors about the flora and fauna that can be found along mangroves will also be installed along the waterway. 

Residents can also look forward to more communal spaces, including shelters and seats in this area.

At Sungei Tampines, residents can look forward to additional greenery along the river banks and new footpaths that bring the community nearer to the river banks. 

New seats and shelters will be provided while existing ones will be refurbished to give residents a better view of the scenery. 

ABC Waters design features such as rain gardens will also be incorporated to cleanse stormwater runoff before it is discharged into the waterway. 

This ABC Waters project will be carried out in tandem with the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme by the Housing and Development Board and Town Council.

Mr Tan Nguan Sen, PUB’s Director of Catchment and Waterways, said, “ABC Waters at Sungei Api Api and Sungei Tampines will enhance the natural mangrove environment that residents have grown to love, while creating a transformed urban waterfront experience for city dwellers, nature lovers and residents alike. 

"By introducing more seating and shelters, we aim to improve the riverside experience for the users, who will at the same time enjoy cleaner water in these two rivers.”

cynloh@sph.com.sg