Pandan Gardens

SG neighbourhood
image

englishname=Pandan Gardens
chinesename = 班丹花园
pinyin = ban1 dan1 hua1 yuan2
malayname=Taman Pandan

Pandan Gardens (population: approx 19,000) is a residential neighbourhood which is part of Jurong East New Town in the West Region of Singapore. Immediately north of Pandan Reservoir and adjacent to Teban Gardens, it comprises exclusively of public housing built by the JTC Corporation.

Geography

Like its sister town - Teban Gardens, Pandan Gardens was a patch of mangrove swamp bordering on the banks of Sungai Pandancite web| url=http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/stars/public/viewPDF.jsp?pdfno=041-1978-08-19_jtc.pdf |title =JTC Press Release |publisher =National Archive of Singapore] but was subsequently reclaimed to make way for housing development projects by the JTC Corporation in 1970.

Flanked on the south side by the Pandan Reservoir and the east side by the bank of Sungai Pandan, it sits situated at the fringe of Jurong Industrial Estate as well as being on the crossroad from Singapore's city center and other parts of the island towards the various industrial estates located within Jurong, Tuas and the nearby Jurong Island.

Housing Estate

Although the land reclamation of the estate began in 1970, the actual construction did not commence until after 1975 as the land needed time to settle after being reclaimed from the mangrove swampland of the Sungai Pandan. JTC Corporation undertook the construction of the public housing blocks in the estate as a means to provide additional housings for the families of the workers from the nearby areas of Jurong Industrial Estate. This was done to help ease the housing problem due in part by the overcrowding in the then nearby Taman Jurong housing estate, which was also built by JTC in 1969 [cite web| url=http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/stars/public/viewPDF.jsp?pdfno=PressR19690709c.pdf |title =Ministry of Health, Singapore Press Release |publisher =National Archive of Singapore] .

The first housing block was completed around 1978 with a running sequence from block No.401 through to 416 (both 415 and 416 are four storey shophouses). Currently, Pandan Gardens and Teban Gardens are satellite towns to the nearby Jurong East New Town.

Accessibility

Pandan Gardens is accessible via public transport serviced by the Jurong East MRT Station and the Jurong East Bus Interchange, while Ayer Rajah Expressway provides it with a well connected road access to virtually anywhere in Singapore.

The nearby attractions are the Singapore Mint, Singapore Science Centre, Snow City, Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden.

Amenities

Although Pandan has a few shophouses of its own at block No.415 and 416, it lacks a wet market like the one found in Teban Gardens [cite web| url=http://sg.shownearby.com/address/110120/teban_gardens_road_market_and_food_centre/map |title = Map of Teban Garden Market & Food Center |publisher =sg.shownearby.com] , hence it gets to share the service of the market with the residents of Teban Gardens. Also located in Teban Gardens is the Ayer Rajah Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) of Clementi Police Division [cite web| url=http://www.spf.gov.sg/sitemap.htm |title = Singapore Police Force Internet Portal |publisher = Singapore Police Force] at block No.43, which continues to serve the residents since its inauguration in 1985.

For entertainment and shopping, there is the nearby Jurong Entertainment Centre & IMM Shopping Mall, both of which are located in Jurong East. Nearby the two shopping centers, there is also the Jurong Regional Library which is a regional public library serving the needs of all the residents and students in the surrounding region, including Pandan Gardens.

Public transport

;Nearest MRT Station:Jurong East MRT Station (1988 - present)

;Nearest Bus Interchange:Jurong Bus Depot / Interchange (now defunct, 1978 - 1991):Jurong East Bus Interchange (1988 - present)

;Bus services serving the town::SBS Transit service number: 30, 51, 78, 79, 143, 154, 197, 198, 533, 580 & 9N.:SMRT Buses service number: 176

Public Schools

*Pandan Primary School (1981 - 2008) merged with Fuhua Primary School in 2008.
*Fuhua Primary School (1941 - present)
*Jurong Junior College (1981 - 1985) moved to new location in 1985, premises re-allocated for use by River Valley High School.
*River Valley High School (1986 - 2004) moved to new location in 2004, premises re-allocated for use by Commonwealth Secondary School.
*Commonwealth Secondary School (Nov 2006 - present).

West Coast Group Representation Constituency (GRC)

Currently, Pandan Gardens is a part of Ayer Rajah ward within the West Coast GRC [cite web| url=http://www.wctc.org.sg/MTPS.html |title =MPs of West Coast GRC |publisher = West Coast Town Council] .

Members of Parliament

*Mr Lim Hng Kiang (Telok Blangah) - Minister for Trade and Industry
*Mr S Iswaran (Ayer Rajah) Minister of State (Trade & Industry)
*Mr Cedric Foo Chee Keng (Pioneer)
*Madam Ho Geok Choo (Boon Lay)
*Mr Arthur Fong (Clementi)

Together with Teban Gardens and West Coast Drive, the three formed the Single Member Constituency (SMC) [cite web| url=http://www.elections.gov.sg/types_electoral.htm |title =Types of Electoral Divisions, SMC & GRC |publisher = Elections Department, Singapore] of Ayer Rajah Ward prior to being absorbed into the West Coast GRC during the 2006's election in Singapore. Dr Tan Cheng Bock was the incumbent Member of Parliament, since the formation of the ward in 1980, he subsequently retired in 2006 after making way for his successor - Mr S Iswaran, the current MP.

ee also

*Taman Jurong
*Jurong
*Jurong East
*Jurong East New Town
*Jurong Lake
*Pandan Reservoir
*Teban Gardens
*West Coast Drive

References

External links

* [http://spot-pandan.blogspot.com/ Photos of Pandan Reservoir]