Straits Times, Oct 28, 2006
Ang Mo Kio mega mall ready soon
ANG Mo Kio is about four months away from having a new mega mall, a development seen to bring a new buzz to one of Singapore's oldest HDB estates.
Billed as a one-stop retail and entertainment experience, the four-storey AMK Hub with 262 shops will also be a focal point for a range of services provided by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) cooperatives.
These include a 2,000-sq-ft lounge where the elderly can meet in air-conditioned comfort; a 4,400-sq-ft childcare centre; and an NTUC Club entertainment centre with an eight-screen cineplex.
It will also house FairPrice's first-ever hypermarket and have a mega pharmacy run by NTUC Healthcare, the labour movement's health-care arm
At least 90 per cent of floor space in the $340 million mall has already been taken up by the NTUC cooperatives and stores ranging from fashion and apparel outlets to banks, cafes and eateries.
The 19.3ha complex will also be connected to an air-conditioned bus interchange, slated for completion early next year, and an underpass to Ang Mo Kio MRT station.
Speaking at the mall's topping-off ceremony yesterday NTUC secretary-general Lim Boon Heng said its completion - hopefully in time for Chinese New Year - will complement the rejuvenation of Ang Mo Kio town centre.
'By having a seamless linkage with the upcoming air-conditioned bus interchange and the underpass to Ang Mo Kio MRT station, the one-stop AMK Hub will also provide greater convenience and accessibility to the contemporary family needs of residents within and beyond Ang Mo Kio,' he said.
Mr Lim believes that with a catchment of some 780,000 residents in Ang Mo Kio and nearby estates in Bishan, Hougang, Serangoon and Toa Payoh, the mall will become a 'buzzing focal point' for young and old alike.
It was a view shared by Mr Seng Han Thong, MP for Yio Chu Kang, who is NTUC assistant secretary-general.
'We foresee that with the completion of AMK Hub, the town centre will be even more vibrant,' he said.
'The mall will attract shoppers from not just Ang Mo Kio, but other parts of Singapore as well.'
Mr Lim also saw the mall's development as reflecting what NTUC spelt out in its Labour Movement 2011 vision for the next five years to serve workers at all levels - from low-income contract workers to executives.
'The AMK Hub development is in line with an exciting phase for the labour movement,' said Mr Lim, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
Construction of the mall began last year, and when it opens next year it is expected to generate 1,500 jobs.
Dr Chua Yang Liang, head of research at property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle's office here, said the mall will benefit from the large human traffic flow.
'Such a development will complement the surrounding retail landscape, providing residents and businesses alike with a wider choice of retail opportunities,' he said.
However, Mr Goh Ang Jee who heads an association of neighbourhood shops was less certain.
'We are only small-scale retailers, so it'll be very difficult to compete against such a new large-scale and air-conditioned mall,' said Mr Goh, who runs a furniture shop in the area.
To cope with the competition, he plans to get shop owners to put their goods on sale more often, and organise stage activities during festive seasons to draw more shoppers.
Ultimately, consumers such as administration officer Jessie Quek, 49, are the ones who stand to benefit.
'We have waited so long for this,' said Madam Quek, who lives a five-minute walk away from the mall. 'Ang Mo Kio Central used to be filled with activity until the old bus interchange was demolished some years ago.'
'We are more than happy to have the bustle back.'
Copyright © 2006 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
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