How the North-South Corridor delay affects nearby businesses and residents

The North-South Corridor’s delay extends the uncertainty for people living or trading beside its construction sites. The impact is clearest in Novena, where a shop owner has reported a steep fall in business. Across the affected areas, a later opening does not necessarily mean every road and footpath will remain disrupted until the corridor is complete. 48

What changed in the opening timetable?

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) now expects the viaduct from Admiralty Road West to Lentor Avenue to open in phases from 2029, rather than 2027. The tunnel from Lentor Avenue to East Coast Parkway is expected to open in phases from 2031, rather than 2029. LTA attributed the two-year shift to construction challenges that require more time to complete the remaining works safely. These are phased opening dates, not dates on which disruption at every construction site will end. 5814

Novena: Lost trade and worries about staying open

Businesses near the Novena works have reported reduced customer traffic and concerns about surviving the longer construction period. Alvin Lin, owner of Celine’s Gelato, told CNA after the delay was announced that business had fallen by 75%. In an earlier report, he said sales had dropped by about 25% after barricades were erected directly in front of his shop in October 2024. The reports describe his business at different times; they should not be treated as a consistent area-wide measure of lost sales. 415

For shops that depend on customers being able to find and reach them easily, an extended period of construction can make recovery harder. Reporting also describes concern among businesses about whether they can remain open through the works. It does not, however, establish a reliable rent increase, closure count or common percentage loss for Novena shops. 47

Braddell Hill and Chong Pang: A longer wait, but no sound financial comparison

Residents near the works face a longer period of uncertainty about noise, dust and travel disruption. The available reporting describes these inconveniences around construction sites, but does not provide comparable, area-by-area measurements for Braddell Hill and Chong Pang. Nor does it establish how much businesses in either area have lost in sales, whether their rents have changed, or how many face closure. Ranking the three neighbourhoods by financial harm would therefore overstate the evidence. 47

Will access improve before the corridor opens?

LTA says travel conditions should improve progressively as major surface-level structures are completed. It also plans to reinstate roads and footpaths occupied by construction works. That could ease some day-to-day access problems before the viaduct and tunnel open, but LTA’s statement does not give a specific restoration date for each affected shopfront or neighbourhood. 814

The practical distinction is between local access being restored and the new corridor opening. For nearby businesses and residents, the first may bring relief sooner; the revised 2029 and 2031 dates refer to the latter. 814