Khaw Boon Wan HDB Flats are not ‘Shrinking’ in Size: National Development Minister Mr Khaw Boon Wan was responding to a concern raised by a NUS student about shrinking flat sizes at the annual REACH Contributors’ Forum last night.
He reassured Singaporeans that Singapore will not go the way of Hong Kong, where the flats are far smaller.
“There has been this misunderstanding that HDB has shrunk its units in recent years. We have not but we continue to build smaller units and larger units and it is the choice of the consumers,” he said.
Mr Khaw added that some units may be small because it serve some buyers who prefer small homes:
“We have 1.2 million housing units and some could be of that size because there would be people who find it comfortable for their purpose instead of having a big place and finding it very hard and costly to buy and maintain.”
Mr Khaw’s statement appeared to contradict that of HDB CEO Dr Cheong Koon Hean who admitted that the size of HDB flats has shrunk by five to 10 per cent over the last 20 to 30 years.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a housing forum in November 2011, Dr Cheong noted that there were now fewer persons living in one flat which works out to increased living space per person.
“Our families are smaller. In the old days, we have very large families living in a flat. Today, the family is two, three, four (people).”
Khaw Boon Wan Not True HDB Flats are ‘Shrinking’ in Size
