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[h=2]ST journalist: Khaw is correct that HDB flat sizes has not shrunk over past 15 years[/h]Posted by temasektimes on May 4, 2012
A recent statement made by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan that HDB flats have not shrunk in size in the past 15 years has caused some confusion among Singaporeans.
Speaking at a forum recently, Mr Khaw said:
“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.”
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.
The Straits Times journalist Jessica Cheam who wrote both articles has since clarified that both reports are right. In a posting on Facebook, she wrote:
“I’ve doublechecked with HDB and both reports are right – Minister Khaw is accurate in saying the flat size hasn’t changed in the past 15 years because the mid-90s was the last time that HDB changed flat sizes.”
She explained that while HDB flat sizes have shrunk in the past 3 decades, it has not shrunk over the past 15 years.
“So, more accurately – The size of a four-room flat, for example, has been 90 sq m since the mid-90s. It was 100 sq m prior to that, and 105 sq m in the 1980s, according to HDB figures. The table given to us by HDB in the Nov report used a more generic timeframe (1980s, 1990s, 2000s) to show the sizes over the decades.”
A recent statement made by National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan that HDB flats have not shrunk in size in the past 15 years has caused some confusion among Singaporeans.Speaking at a forum recently, Mr Khaw said:
“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.”
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.
The Straits Times journalist Jessica Cheam who wrote both articles has since clarified that both reports are right. In a posting on Facebook, she wrote:
“I’ve doublechecked with HDB and both reports are right – Minister Khaw is accurate in saying the flat size hasn’t changed in the past 15 years because the mid-90s was the last time that HDB changed flat sizes.”
She explained that while HDB flat sizes have shrunk in the past 3 decades, it has not shrunk over the past 15 years.
“So, more accurately – The size of a four-room flat, for example, has been 90 sq m since the mid-90s. It was 100 sq m prior to that, and 105 sq m in the 1980s, according to HDB figures. The table given to us by HDB in the Nov report used a more generic timeframe (1980s, 1990s, 2000s) to show the sizes over the decades.”
