The Pinnacle becomes a talking point

The Pinnacle at Tanjong Pagar has now become a highly-prized HDB development; however, it might not have been built if the Minister for National Development, Mr. Mah Bow Tan, had not convinced his fellow ministers in the Cabinet.

With the prime piece of land intended for residential development, "the question facing us was whether we should have built private property - that means tender out the land for private property - or built HDB", Mr. Mah said on Sunday night on the programme Talking Point.

"We continue to have younger people moving into that area and that HDB owners are still able to live in a relatively expensive area in downtown", he added, convincing his colleagues of the need to revive the area.

While a viewer had found it "unbelievable" that flats at The Pinnacle were being sold between $500,000 and $600,000, Mr. Mah said it was a matter of location and of HDB providing homes not just to those with low income.

“Our housing (income) ceiling goes all the way up to $8,000, which is, by any standards, upper-middle income, and that's why we have to build many different varieties of flats, and the Pinnacle is one of them,” said Mr Mah.