[12 January 2000]
SMU breaks ground at Evans Road Interim Campus

It was an opportunity to catch SMU Chairman Mr Ho Kwon Ping and SMU President Prof Janice Bellace out of corporate gear and in chilli red overalls and bright yellow boots. The auspicious occasion was the ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction at SMU's interim campus.

Joined by SMU's Deputy President Prof Tan Teck Meng and distinguished guests, Mr Ho drove the first pile into the ground at Evans Road, site of the first building that will be specially constructed for SMU's first batch of undergraduates.

Students will occupy the purpose-built Evans Road building with its IT-savvy "smart" classrooms for a year before moving into fully renovated buildings at the nearby National Institute of Education (NIE) in 2001. The graceful colonial buildings will be fully refurbished and refitted to accommodate state-of-the-art IT applications.

Planning for SMU's city campus in the Bras Basah district is now underway and the first phase of construction is expected to be completed by 2004.