HDB flat at 4 Sago Lane with Pearl Bank Apartments under construction in the background, August 1973 [2]

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This photograph shows the construction of an HDB flat at 4 Sago Lane, which is near completion. The resettlement of 100,000 Chinatown residents from pre-war dilapidated shophouses began with Sago Lane following the demolition of an L-shaped three storey shophouse that were occupied by 2000 people. Ex-residents of Sago Lane were given priority for flats and shops in the new 21-storey housing and shopping complex that replaces their former home. In between the demolition and the completion of the new flat, the ex-residents of Sago Lane were resettled in HDB flats in York Hill, Redhill and Tiong Bahru. The Chinatown urban renewal programme by the government proceeded slowly due to the high cost of demolition. On the opposite left of the newly-constructed HDB block is the Pearl Bank Apartments development, which is also under construction. The condominium was demolished in 2020. Description by Library staff.