SINGAPORE – New neighbourhoods are set to be established in areas such as Dover, Defu, Newton and Paterson, offering a mix of public and private homes islandwide.
Also in the pipeline are new office spaces and amenities in Bishan, more parks in Singapore’s north-west, as well as community hubs in Sengkang, Woodlands North and Yio Chu Kang fashioned after Our Tampines Hub.
These development plans were laid out on June 25 at the launch of the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025 exhibition, which presents the agency’s latest blueprint that will guide Singapore’s development for the next 10 to 15 years.
Besides new housing areas and recreational facilities, the draft masterplan also includes proposals to revitalise Singapore’s city centre and preserve its heritage by conserving buildings like the NatSteel Steel Pavilion and former Pasir Panjang English School.
The launch follows an extensive public engagement campaign since October 2023, with the URA getting feedback from nearly 220,000 people through exhibitions, dialogues, focus groups and surveys.
National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said this was the URA’s most extensive public engagement yet, and that the exhibition brings together ideas that Singaporeans have put forth into a “shared vision” for the coming years.
Homes will be built in areas such as Kranji, Dover and Newton, he said at the launch at The URA Centre in Maxwell Road.
At least 80,000 public and private homes are slated to be introduced across more than 10 new housing areas islandwide over the next 10 to 15 years, under the 2025 draft masterplan.
New amenities and recreational spaces will be built in the upcoming Dover-Medway neighbourhood, which is near one-north and education institutions such as the National University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic.
The first phase will focus on the eastern section near one-north and Kent Ridge MRT stations, and provide around 6,000 public and private homes. Development is set to begin in November 2025 with a Government Land Sales site in Dover Road that can yield 625 private apartments.
Plans for the development of Medway Park, which currently houses colonial bungalows, will be studied in the coming years, the URA added.
In Newton, a new neighbourhood that draws on the area’s greenery and identity will be introduced. The precinct will have 5,000 private homes, and be anchored by a high-density, mixed-used development to be built next to Newton MRT station and Newton Food Centre.
Monk’s Hill Road will be turned into a linear park, said the URA, adding that existing mature trees and heritage buildings will be integrated in the neighbourhood so that it retains its sense of place.
Private homes will also be developed in Paterson, with about 1,000 new units planned for the area – including some in a mixed-use hub above Orchard MRT station that also has retail and office spaces.
The URA also outlined longer-term plans for towns in larger areas such as Sembawang Shipyard, which will cease operations in 2028, and the former Singapore Racecourse in Kranji, which held its final race in October 2024.
Another new town with public and private homes will be built in the Defu industrial area, after Paya Lebar Air Base is relocated in the 2030s.
Defu, which is located just outside the air base, will be prepared for development when leases of existing firms expire in the coming years. Residents of the new neighbourhood will have essential services and amenities within a 10-minute walk.
Plans for the future town will not affect the ongoing leases of businesses in the industrial estate, the URA said, without stating when these leases will end.
The URA also gave more details for the Greater Southern Waterfront, which will have its first flats launched in October.
In the area’s next phase of development, residential precincts will be built at Keppel Distripark and Keppel Terminal.
The authorities are looking to rejuvenate existing neighbourhoods as well, with towns such as Pasir Ris and Yishun set to get new homes and amenities.
Plans to liven up the Orchard and Downtown areas are also under way, the URA said, announcing an elevated pedestrian link bridge at Dhoby Ghaut Green that will link the expanded Istana Park to Fort Canning Park.
Another new bridge will be built by 2029 to give cyclists and pedestrians a direct link between Marina Centre and Bay East Garden.
Meanwhile, as part of ongoing studies for a “Long Island” to be reclaimed off East Coast, investigation works will begin in July in the waters off East Coast Park, to obtain data on the site’s geological and seabed conditions. This is expected to take a few months.
The URA’s exhibition also touched on efforts to spread jobs across the island and to optimise the country’s limited land.
In Bishan, new office and retail spaces will be built, alongside a new hawker centre, a revamped bus interchange and a polyclinic.
The URA said some government agencies may move to Bishan, which will be positioned as a sub-regional centre, with office space equal to that of Paya Lebar Central.
Sub-regional centres are business nodes such as Paya Lebar that bring jobs closer to homes, but are not as large as regional centres in Woodlands, Jurong and Tampines.
Agencies such as JTC Corporation are pressing on with studies for Gali Batu Cavern, an underground aggregate storage facility to be built near Mandai to free up surface land.
Mr Chee said land use plans continually need to be refined to deal with new challenges, such as a more uncertain global environment and its impact on business activities and supply chains, the effects of climate change, and the need to meet housing demand and refresh older towns.
“Tackling these challenges will require a concerted effort by the Government, stakeholders and all Singaporeans,” he said.
“We need to work together to shape our collective future. Along the way, there will be some difficult trade-offs that we need to discuss and find a way to strike a careful balance.”
Dr Woo Jun Jie, a senior lecturer at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy who researches urban governance, said the draft masterplan reflects planners’ efforts to tackle many competing needs in Singapore.
“We want to plan for our future climate needs, our socio-economic needs; but at the same time, we want to preserve some of the spaces that sort of define the zeitgeist of Singapore,” he said, listing other priorities such as education and housing.
He added that siting more homes closer to the city centre and within access of many amenities “is a conscious effort for citizens to belong to the city, feel a sense of belonging, and have fair access to all parts of our island”.
The URA’s masterplan is reviewed once every five years. The current edition came into force in 2019.
The Draft Master Plan 2025 exhibition will run until Nov 29 at The URA Centre from Mondays to Saturdays. It will also be taken to locations across the island between Aug 2 and Nov 9.
More details are available at go.gov.sg/URADraftMasterPlan
“Source:[New housing areas in Dover, Defu, Newton and Paterson unveiled in URA’s Draft Master Plan 2025] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
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