Developer of project in Sembawang to fix cracks in houses nearby

SINGAPORE: The developer of a project in Sembawang will fix the cracks and damage to 20 houses and two shophouses nearby.

The developer is doing this after complaints of cracked walls, sunken driveways and leaking roofs surfaced in April last year from residents around Jalan Legundi, Jalan Derum and Sembong Road.

The affected residents linked the cracks to the construction of a three—storey mixed development nearby.

Their Member of Parliament (Nee Soon GRC), Mr K Shanmugam, visited some of the houses in December last year, along with officers from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and grassroots leaders.

He asked the developer to repair the more serious damage before Lunar New Year and fix the rest after that.

In a Facebook post following a meeting on January 9 with the developer and his professional advisors, as well as the BCA and Neighbourhood Committee, Mr Shanmugam said the developer will carry out the repair work in two stages.

It will start with temporary works and then move on to permanent repair works.

The Neighbourhood Committee (NC) told Channel NewsAsia permanent repair works might begin at the end of March when the first floor of the three—storey high mixed development is built.

The NC said the developer would be able to better assess then, if the soil is stable enough to commence permanent repair.

Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Law and Foreign Affairs Minister, said some residents want the temporary works to be done before the Lunar New Year.

The contractor has agreed to do so.

In the meantime, residents are bracing themselves for inconveniences from the repair work.

"Some inconveniences are you got to be here when they come to do the work but the main inconvenience will come later when they do the reinstatement such as the dust, noise, and generally the knocking and the hacking. We actually intend to renovate our house. We have plans but because of this, now we are in a dilemma," said Mr Sing Kong Yang, one of the affected residents.

Other residents asked for repair works to be done after the Lunar New Year.

The BCA told Channel NewsAsia that 20 of the 35 houses, as well as two shophouses, are affected.

It has instructed the Professional Engineer of the construction project to inspect the affected units and submit an assessment report.

It stressed that the structures of these buildings have not been affected.

— CNA/fa