Building a sustainable future: Draft Master Plan 2025

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

August 2, 2024 9:00 AM SGT

A new public housing estate with 5,000 units will spring up in the Old Police Academy site in Mount Pleasant, near Bukit Brown and MacRitchie Reservoir (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Sustainable development is a major theme in the Draft Master Plan 2025. While new neighbourhoods and new lifestyle areas are planned, the government is also planning to redevelop brownfield sites in Central areas into new housing estates. These include Bukit Timah Turf City, the former Keppel Club golf course, the Old Police Academy at Mount Pleasant, and the foothills of Pearl’s Hill City Park.

To create a more inclusive community, the government is introducing a mix of public and private housing in these Central areas. Pearl’s Hill will see 6,000 new homes in the next decade, with a mix of private and public housing. Mount Pleasant will have 5,000 new public housing units in the future.

New neighbourhoods in the Central areas are gazetted as car-lite. These new neighbourhoods will also be designed as “10-minute neighbourhoods”, where key amenities, including public transport, will be within a 10-minute walk of most residents’ homes. These new neighbourhoods include Bukit Timah Turf Club, Pearl’s Hill, and Marina South.

In addition to being a 10-minute neighbourhood, some of these new enclaves, such as Marina South, will also be “sustainable towns”. In such areas, all the developments will be required to attain the highest BCA sustainability rating, the Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy (SLE). Developers are encouraged to plant native species based on National Parks Board’s Landscape Master Plan to allow the movement of wildlife and provide shelter for pedestrians.

Marina South, located next to Gardens by the Bay, is designated a sustainable town, where all buildings have to attain the BCA Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy Building certification (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Greater connectivity

The MRT network is being expanded to create greater connectivity. The fourth stage of the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) — Singapore’s seventh MRT Line — saw seven stations spanning a 10.8km stretch open in June. These stations are on East Coast, from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore.

The fifth and final stage of the TEL, to be completed in 2026, will see the opening of two stations, Bedok South and Sungei Bedok. With the completion of these two stations, the TEL will be linked to the Downtown Line, with Sungei Bedok serving as an interchange station for both lines.

Work has begun on Singapore’s eighth MRT line, the Cross Island Line (CRL). According to the Land Transport Authority, it will link major hubs such as Jurong Lake District, Punggol Digital District, and the Changi Region. The CRL will be completed in three phases. Construction work has begun on the first phase, which is 29km long and comprises 12 stations. It is scheduled to be completed by 2030.

The Jurong Region Line (JRL), with 24 stations, is scheduled for completion in stages between 2027 and 2029. It connects the entire western region from Choa Chu Kang to Jurong Pier and Pandan Valley. Jurong East Station, an existing interchange for the North-South and East-West Lines, will also be an interchange for the JRL and the CRL in the future.

Greater connectivity through the expanded MRT network, where the stations in the East Coast of the Thomson-East Coast Line opened in June (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Accessibility to green and blue spaces

The Draft Master Plan 2025 includes a new Recreation Master Plan designed to activate Singapore’s green and blue spaces to create more leisure and recreational areas. Parks and forests are considered green spaces, while lakes and rivers are considered blue spaces.

The blue and green spaces were introduced in the 1991 Concept Plan and expanded into the Leisure Plan in the 2008 Master Plan. This led to the 360km island-wide park connector network and 150km Round Island Route cycling paths. The Southern Ridges and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve were also improved and made more accessible.

Part of the Recreation Master Plan is to make these recreational areas more accessible to promote active lifestyles, ageing-in-place, and a healthier population. To optimise the usage of these areas, more multi-functional spaces, including spaces for sports, arts, and wellness, will be created.

URA Recreation Master Plan 2025, is designed to create more recreational spaces across the island and to create identity nodes for different areas (Source: URA)

An ongoing project is the activation of the 10km Kallang River, Singapore’s longest river. It starts from Lower Peirce Reservoir and runs through many housing and industrial areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Toa Payoh, Bendemeer and Kallang Bahru, before merging into the Kallang Basin.

In 2017, URA announced the first phase of the Bishan-to-City (B2C) links to revitalise areas along the Kallang River. Phase 1 was completed in early October 2023. When fully completed, B2C will connect communities along the river and provide a 10km green commute along the Kallang Park Connector from Bishan to the city, contributing to a more sustainable, car-lite city.

The URA also recently held a competition for ideas to transform the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and site into public spaces. The historic railway station is now part of the 24km Rail Corridor, with biking paths and hiking trails, linked to heritage and community nodes along the way. In April, a new fitness area and playground at North Buona Vista opened as part of a new community node of the Rail Corridor.

When connected, the Kallang Park Connector along the Kallang River will stretch 10km from Bishan to the city (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Reimagining spaces

“Long Island”, first announced in 2019, is a new 20-km coastline in the eastern region that will be reclaimed to protect Singapore’s eastern coastline. It will have a new reservoir, with waterfront and water sports activities and multi-functional spaces for homes, recreation, and nature.

At Jurong Lake District in the west, the Jurong Lake Gardens is now a 90ha national garden, Singapore’s first in a suburban area. The new Singapore Science Centre with a 592,020 sq ft campus will have a prime frontage of the garden. It sits on a 7.4ha site next to Chinese Garden MRT Station and is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Jurong Bird Park’s population of 3,500 birds relocated to Mandai last year. URA is seeking ideas to re-imagine the Jurong Hill area and the former Jurong Bird Park site for work and play.

The government is also exploring the creation of more leisure and living options in idyllic areas. For instance, Changi Point will be developed into an inclusive leisure spot anchored by a sports and recreation centre and an arts and heritage centre. It could also be a future retirement village, through adaptive reuse of the heritage buildings there.

Sentosa Island and the neighbouring Pulau Brani will be positioned as a leisure and tourism destination with world-class attractions, new beach experiences and wellness facilities (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Island getaways

In the south, Sentosa Island and the neighbouring Pulau Brani will be positioned as a leisure and tourism destination with world-class attractions, new beach experiences and wellness facilities. The nature and heritage trails will also be expanded.

A 15-minute boat ride from Singapore are the Southern Islands. Their rustic charm will be retained, but new eco-accommodations, sports facilities and nature trails will be built.

In the northeast, Pulau Ubin’s natural beauty and heritage will also be preserved, but plans are underway to improve its accessibility from the mainland of Singapore. Currently, it is a 15-minute ferry ride away.

Paya Lebar Airbase will be redeveloped into a new town with 150,000 homes (Source: URA)

Identity nodes

URA also wants to create unique identities for different areas so that their heritage is not lost over time. This is done through conservation and adaptive reuse of existing buildings and structures.

For instance, Paya Lebar Airbase will be redeveloped into a new town with 150,000 homes. Built in the 1950s, it had served as Singapore’s international airport. When Changi Airport was built in 1981, Paya Lebar Airbase became a military airbase for the Republic of Singapore Air Force. However, the airbase will be decommissioned in 2030.

Plans are underway to create a distinctive identity anchored on the site’s aviation history, with old buildings, such as the airport tower, hangars and even runways, repurposed for recreational and community use. The government is seeking ideas from the public on the recreational and community uses for the space.

The government is also seeking ideas from the public for other future developments, such as Sembawang Shipyard and Singapore Turf Club in Kranji.

In the lead-up to the Draft Master Plan 2025, the government has announced new developments in various parts of Singapore — from the north to the northeast, west, central, and eastern regions. Check out our stories on the different regions on the other pages.

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