Prime Minister Lee joins residents for the annual tree planting at Fernvale Lane, Singapore

SINGAPORE – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong joined 1,500 residents of Ang Mo Kio GRC and Sengkang West SMC Sunday morning at an annual tree planting event where new facilities were also inaugurated.

Armed with shovels, Prime Minister Lee and fellow MP Ang M Kio RCMP, Dr. Koh Poh Koon, Mr. Ang Hin Kee, Mr. Gan Thiam Poh and the MP for Sengkang West, Lam Pin Min , braved the sun to plant seven trees Agathis borneensis, more commonly known as Borneo. Kauri or Malayan Kauri, in front of Block 405A Fernvale Lane in Sengkang.

During the event, residents also participated in a family carnival including game kiosks and shows.

PM Lee also unveiled a new sheltered walkway that will allow residents of Fern Spring and Fern View Estate, bounded by Fernvale Lane and Fernvale Road, to access the bus stop along Yio Chu Kang Road. .

It connects the third floor of the multi-storey parking lot of Block 404 Fernvale Lane to the bus stop.

Gan, who oversees Sengkang South, said the bridge project was a community initiative launched last year by local leaders, which raised $ 388,000 for the construction of the bridge. which was completed this week.

As most buildings are built on a slope, residents normally need to take a 40-step staircase from the ground floor of the car park to reach the top of the slope, where the bus stop is located.

But the link will allow them to take the elevator up to the third floor of the adjacent car park and get to the bus stop without having to climb up the stairs.

"This is part of plans to make the neighborhood more accessible for elderly residents and families with young children in baby carriages," he said. About 1,600 households live in the Fern Spring and Fern View domains.

Retired Teng Mei Foong, 65, a former worker in a garment factory, is happy to see the new bridge.

She said: "Climbing the stairs is very tiring for the elderly as we and the residents have been complaining about it for about four years.Now it will be easier to get to the bus stop when I go to Chinatown for shopping or when visiting my family. "