Kovan, Singapore

This article is about the neighbourhood in Singapore. For the community in West Virginia, see Kovan, West Virginia.
Kovan
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 高文
 • Pinyin Gāo Wén
 • Malay Kovan
 • Tamil கோவன்
Country  Singapore

Kovan (Chinese: 高文; pinyin: Gāo Wén) is a neighbourhood located within the town of Hougang, in the North-East Region of Singapore. Kovan was traditionally an area associated with the Teochew community. A number of road names at Kovan commemorate the more prominent members of this community. Kovan's Teochew name is "La gou jio", which means six miles from the Fullerton Hotel. The neighbourhood today, largely consists of private housing properties, where a majority of the residents live in terrace homes, semi-detached and bungalows.

Geography

As part of Hougang, Kovan is situated east of Serangoon, in the North-East Region of Singapore. As a relatively small suburb, Kovan's boundaries are relatively unclear. The Urban Redevelopment Authority however, defines its boundaries as Hougang Avenue 2 to the north, Yio Chu Kang Road to the west, southwest and south and Upper Serangoon Road to the east.[1]

Transportation

The main road connecting Kovan to the other parts of Singapore is Upper Serangoon Road. Both Kovan MRT Station and Heartland Mall are situated along this major road. Nearby is the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, which provides a direct route to the city area.

Public transport in Kovan is evident. It is served by Kovan MRT Station, which is just opposite to Heartland Mall. Kovan formerly had a bus terminal, which is now renamed Kovan Hub. However, many buses still pass through Kovan, as they ply through the main Upper Serangoon Road. The bus stop connected to Kovan MRT Station is a major one, and a relatively high number of buses pass through it that passes through towards Hougang or Serangoon.

Former Bus Interchange

The former Hougang South Bus Interchange in Kovan

Hougang South Bus Interchange was closed since 15 February 2004 when the authorities acquired it for other developments. It was situated at Hougang Street 21 next to the Kovan food centre/Wet Market, near Heartland Mall. All bus services were relocated to Hougang Central Bus Interchange, except 62 (of which it was modified as Punggol - Geylang Lor 1 service, and feeder services were merged into 101, 112 and 113 respectively. The old bus interchange is now a public carpark and private bus terminal for express buses. 4 bus services currently serve the bus stop (Kovan Hub):

Housing

The main type of housing in Kovan are landed homes. The condominiums Kovan Melody, and Kovan Residences are on the main road, directly opposite Kovan station. Also recently completed beside Kovan Residences is Kovan Regency. Yet another condominium, which is currently under construction is Stars of Kovan, which will be at the corner of Upper Serangoon Rd and Tampines Rd.

Amenities

The main amenity in Kovan is Heartland Mall. Heartland Mall is well-served by a number of well-known outlets and shops, such as Popular, KFC, Sakae Sushi etc. Kovan Sports Centre is just across the road from Heartland Mall, which have eight sheltered indoor futsal courts. A bowling alley, Superbowl Hougang, is also near Heartland Mall.

Heartland Mall

There is also a neighbourhood park south of Heartland Mall Which is opposite Yuying Secondary School. There are also two community clubs in kovan, the Aljunied community club (Blk 110) and the Paya Lebar Kovan community club which is opposite Kovan Hub. A number of pubs and cafes like Grapevine Cafe Bar and Restaurant, O Bar, a Vegetarian Restaurant and other international eateries found in the area. There is also the Crocodile Farm nearby.

Places of worship

Education

There is only one primary (Xinghua) and secondary school (Yuying) in Kovan. These two schools are part of the 19 educational institutions in Hougang.

There used to be several more schools located deep inside the housing estate and the surrounding area. These schools either closed down or moved to other remote areas such as Serangoon North and even the far parts of Hougang. The last school to stop operations, Parry Primary School, closed down in late 2006.

Politics

Kovan is part of Aljunied GRC, and is located within the constituency's Paya Lebar division. Residents within the neighbourhood are represented by Chen Show Mao.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "URA SPACE". Urban Redevelopment Authority.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/10/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.