Kovan, Singapore

This article is about the community in Singapore. For the community in the United States, 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 suburb and part of Hougang, in the North-East Region of Singapore. It is part of Aljunied GRC. The area is a private housing estate, where majority of the residents live in terrace homes, semi-detached and bungalows. In recent years there are new condominiums constructed in the area.

Location

As part of Hougang New Town, Kovan is situated north of Serangoon, in the eastern part of Singapore, under the North-East Region. A relatively small suburb, its boundaries are unclear and not defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Possible boundaries include the intersection at Simon Road to the north, Charlton Road to the south and Hougang Avenue 2 to the east.

It is also known as La gou jio in Teochew which mean six miles from the Fullerton Hotel.

Transportation facilities

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):

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.

Schools

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.

Places of worship

Politics

Although Kovan is considered part of Hougang, it is in fact part of Aljunied GRC, part of Paya Lebar division (Chen Show Mao).

Housing

Kovan as part of Hougang was traditionally an area associated with the Teochew community. A number of road names at Kovan commemorate the more prominent members of this community. The main type of housing in Kovan are landed homes with the majority being in the Kovan, Rosyth and Hillside housing areas. The condominiums Kovan Melody, and Kovan Residences are on the main road, directly opposite the Kovan station. Another condominium, which is currently under construction is Kovan Regency, which will be beside Kovan Residences.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, March 11, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.