Singapore's next chapter: New models for regional hubs, industrial estates in URA's Draft Master Plan 2025
Review of industrial land use zoning guidelines to meet evolving business needs
New residential neighbourhoods in Newton, Paterson, the Greater one-north area, and around Paya Lebar Airbase
[SINGAPORE] To meet Singapore's changing needs, state planners are retooling the city's regional hubs and older industrial estates for an evolving economy, the new Draft Master Plan 2025 reveals. A bigger decentralised office hub in Bishan is on the cards, on the scale of Paya Lebar Central. The government also plans to open up spots with more flexible zoning in industrial estates that can cater to new business models and non-industrial use.
The authorities are reviewing Singapore's industrial land use zone guidelines to 'better respond to evolving business needs', said Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat at the launch of the blueprint on Wednesday (Jun 25).
Moving away from mono-use zones to mixed-use districts will give developers greater flexibility in allowable uses on industrial land and enhance Singapore's economic competitiveness.
Key planning priorities were outlined in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Draft Master Plan 2025 (DMP2025), a statutory land use plan that guides Singapore's development in the next 10 to 15 years, and is reviewed every five years.
'As we continue to chart out long-term plans to build a brighter future for Singapore, we must also remain agile and continually refine our land use plans to deal with new challenges,' said Chee.
A more uncertain global economy means 'business activities and supply chains could undergo further shifts', he said. Singapore also needs to prepare for the effects of climate change, and changes in housing demand.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Reworking business nodes, moving beyond the city centre
The government is intensifying efforts to decentralise office spaces by growing Singapore's regional hubs.
At Bishan, plans are in the works to introduce new office spaces matching the scale of Paya Lebar Central. There will also be new community amenities such as a polyclinic, hawker centre and a revamped bus interchange with air-conditioned waiting areas.
Some government agencies are now looking at relocating their offices to the area, to kickstart the business node's development, said URA.
In Woodlands, upcoming developments will capitalise on both the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone and the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which is expected to be ready by end-2026.
A new multi-modal transport hub will connect the RTS Link to MRT and bus services, and will be part of a 7 hectare (ha) integrated development designated for 'business-white' use with office, industrial and retail spaces for businesses and the community. It is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s.
Business-white zones allow industrial developments to have a greater proportion of non-industrial uses. Complementary developments such as co-working spaces can also be considered. According to the URA website, 'in future, if the disamenities from industrial uses can be managed, it can even accommodate hotels and housing'.
More business-white sites will be introduced around key transport nodes in the Jurong and Tuas industrial estates, on top of existing sites in Woodlands, URA said on Wednesday.
'These sites will support the growth of new business models, provide greater flexibility for businesses, (optimise) land use, and inject amenities such as retail and food and beverage options to serve workers and nearby residents.'
'We will also proceed with the development of Jurong Lake District (JLD) as Singapore's largest mixed-use business district outside the city centre,' Chee said. A heavyweight consortium's bid for the master developer site – one that would have kickstarted JLD's development – had been assessed as 'too low' and rejected last year.
While the 6.5 ha site has been put on the reserve list in the latest H2 government land sales programme, requirements were tweaked with a reduction in its minimum office quantum – from 145,000 square metres for the entire site, to 100,000 sq m.
This change will give developers more flexibility in determining the mix of uses and better pace the roll-out of office space for the site, a URA spokesperson told The Business Times.
The redevelopment of the former Jurong Bird Park and Jurong Hill will support the growth of the western gateway as well, injecting jobs, amenities and recreational space into the greater Jurong area, where Singapore's first industrial estate was born.
An ideas competition to re-imagine the 39 ha site, held in October last year, drew 37 proposals from the public and professionals. Plans submitted featured innovation-driven industries, such as startup incubators and agricultural research and development laboratories, combined with commercial and recreational spaces.
Agencies are now reviewing the winning proposals, said URA.
In the north-east, the 138 ha Seletar East Industrial Estate situated between Punggol Town and Seletar Aerospace Park is planned for high value-added industries such as a wafer fabrication park, Chee said.
Meanwhile, the city centre will continue to anchor the Republic as a global financial and business hub, with plans to refresh Orchard Road and the Downtown areas. A new park will be formed in the heart of Orchard Road, which will merge Istana Park, Dhoby Ghaut Green and a 500 m stretch of Singapore's main shopping belt.
Around Marina Bay, a planned wellness attraction and the expansion of Marina Bay Sands will boost capacity for conferences and events, Chee added.
Efforts to optimise land use will also extend underground. The government is exploring potential caverns at sites such as Gali Batu in Woodlands for storage of construction aggregate, while identifying more possibilities for new underground developments.
For instance, there is an underground electrical sub-station under an upcoming development along Alexandra Road - the first large-scale underground facility of its kind in Singapore, said Chee.
'There is scope to move more of such facilities underground, and free up valuable surface land for other uses.'
Catering for changing housing demand
The DMP2025 also prioritises building more homes to meet demand. Residential estates will be carved out in central locations as well as in areas now being revamped for housing.
New homes are in the pipeline at Newton and Paterson near Orchard Road, and in the Greater one-north area in Dover. In the east, the Paya Lebar Airbase area will be progressively redeveloped following the relocation of the airbase in the 2030s, starting with a new neighbourhood around Defu MRT station on the upcoming Cross Island Line.
Overall, some 800 ha of land will be freed up for redevelopment. At the 2022 National Day Rally, then-prime minister Lee Hsien Loong had said this could make room for 150,000 new homes, and lift some building height restrictions around the area.
New towns are also in the works at the Sembawang Shipyard area, once it ceases operations in 2028, and the former Singapore Racecourse site at Kranji.
The government is already seeding and growing housing estates in other central locations, such as Bukit Timah Turf City, Pearl's Hill, Marina South, Mount Pleasant and the former Keppel Golf Course site.
These will give Singaporeans more opportunities to live in more central locations, said Chee. Overall, at least 80,000 public and private homes are expected to be introduced across more than 10 new housing areas islandwide in the next 10 to 15 years.
URA said that the development of these new neighbourhoods will be paced out to 'allow for flexibility to review and adjust plans regularly in tandem with evolving needs and trends'.
At the same time, new homes and amenities will be added to existing towns, such as Pasir Ris and Yishun.
Seniors can soon look forward to more assisted living options, such as community care apartments, and active ageing centres.
'In my capacity as (a Member of Parliament) for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, which has a higher proportion of senior residents, I will be happy to support the implementation of these ideas within our GRC to benefit my residents,' said Chee.
The 2025 roadmap also detailed plans for more greenery with more than 25 new parks and more than 50 km of park connectors over the next five years.
Over 20 buildings will be proposed for conservation to safeguard Singapore's built heritage. This includes NatSteel Steel Pavilion, the first heavy industry factory established in Jurong Industrial Estate; the former Pasir Panjang English School built in the 1920s and 1930s; and 20 buildings at Bukit Timah Turf City.
The former Pasir Panjang English School will be integrated into a new residential development, as will the heritage buildings at Turf City.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
4 hours ago
- Business Times
Higher seller's stamp duty a warning shot to speculators but unlikely to cause market distress
[SINGAPORE] Changes in seller's stamp duty will make it harder to flip a property for profit in a short time, but are unlikely to have much impact on prices or volume in Singapore's residential market, analysts said on Friday (Jul 4). Nevertheless, the timing of the move was not lost on market players, coming ahead of a third quarter season crowded with new launches. Up to 11 projects with some 5,400 units are slated to be marketed in coming weeks. The government raised rates for seller's stamp duty by four percentage points to a maximum of 16 per cent and extended the minimum holding period from three to four years, citing a sharp increase in the number of private residential transactions with short holding periods in recent years. 'In particular, there has been a significant increase in the sub-sale of units that have not been completed,' said a statement released late on Thursday night. A sale transaction is recorded as a sub-sale when a buyer who has purchased a new unit subsequently sells it to another buyer before the property is completed and the Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC) is issued. The spike in sub-sales in the past five years was essentially due to a lag effect caused by the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, said Leonard Tay, Knight Frank Singapore's head of research. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up From a trough of 198 sub-sales in 2020, the lowest annual tally the market has seen since 1996, the number of sub-sales has risen each year to reach a high of 1,428 by 2024, data compiled by Knight Frank showed. In particular, sub-sale volume jumped in 2023 to 1,294, a 69 per cent increase from the year before. In 2024, volume rose another 10 per cent. 'The pandemic created severe construction delays as a result of constraints in building and development resources such as labour and materials, thereby pushing back project completion dates. By the time most owners collected the keys to their new homes, three years or more had passed, and they were no longer subject to SSD,' said Tay. 'In tandem with rising private home prices, it made financial sense for those who had purchased new homes before or at the start of the pandemic to sell for significant gains to other buyers upon completion.' Sub-sale volumes hovered around 338 units per quarter between Q1 2023 and Q1 2025, compared to 131 units per quarter between Q1 2013 to Q4 2022, said Tricia Song, CBRE research head for South-east Asia. 'Some owners, who probably did not buy their projects with intention to flip, have sold their properties for significant capital gains as prices have risen 40 per cent since 2020,' Song said. The heightened interest rate environment between 2022 and 2023 before rates eased from the second half of 2024 may have also contributed to the increase in sub-sales, Tay said. 'There might be another group of buyers who had purchased uncompleted homes and were facing the start of high mortgage payments (in contrast to the low interest environment prior to 2022). In the face of such an immediate reality measured against growing economic uncertainty, some might have balked at the prospect of the higher payments and decided to sell.' Sub-sale activity has since tapered off, analysts said. Song noted that subsales as a percentage of total private residential transactions have steadily declined, from a 14-year high of 9.5 per cent in Q4 2023, to 4.4 per cent in Q1 2025. 'With property prices stabilising and normalisation of construction timelines, we expect the number of sub-sales to normalise going forward.' 'This measure should not impact the majority of buyers who are genuine owner occupiers or long-term investors,' she added. Hot projects Data compiled by The Business Times showed that between January 2019 and July 2025, the five new projects which saw the most sub-sale activity were all suburban condos in the Outside Central Region - Riverfront Residences, Affinity at Serangoon, The Florence Residences, Treasure at Tampines and The Tre Ver. At Affinity at Serangoon, 334 units were sold in sub-sales, 31.7 per cent of the 1,052 units in the project. The Tre Ver similarly saw 32 per cent of its 729 units sold in sub-sale transactions. Data crunched by head of research Nicholas Mak shows further that in the recent past, the most profitable sub-sale deals were transactions of prime properties in the Core Central Region. Between Q3 2020 and Q4 2023, the biggest winners were sellers of four Boulevard 88 units who saw capital gains of S$2.9 million to S$3.9 million, for gross profits of between 27 per cent to 38 per cent. The seller of a bungalow at Botanic @ Cluny Park, meanwhile, made S$2.6 million off their S$9 million exit prices, for a 40 per cent gross gain. The median gain of a sub-sale for sellers between 2020 and 2025 was S$257,000, Mak found. In the later period, between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025, the heftiest percentage gain was for a sub-sale at Treasure at Tampines in January 2024. The seller chalked up a gross profit of almost 50 per cent, making a capital gain of S$981,000 with their selling price of just under S$3 million. Home prices moderating While the latest increase in SSD took most by surprise, the move was not a knee-jerk reaction but a response to the prolonged increase in volume of sub-sales over several quarters, said Desmond Sim, group chief executive officer of Realion Group which was formed through the merger of OrangeTee and ETC. PropNex chief executive officer Ismail Gafoor said that the moderation of private home prices recently may temper owners' motivation to sell after a short holding period. Official flash estimates show overall private residential property prices have risen by a cumulative 1.3 per cent in the first half of 2025, down from 2.3 per cent in the year-ago period. Fresh cooling measures introduced in 2023, with steep hikes in additional buyer stamp duties (ABSD) for foreign buyers and buyers of second and subsequent properties, have also eroded possible gains from flipping properties. 'Even without this revision (in SSD), higher costs from elevated interest rates and property taxes have already eroded profits and would likely see investors holding on to their properties for longer than three years,' said Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. Mak said: 'With more new residential launches expected in the second half of this year, the government needs a pre-emptive strike to prevent further rise in the number and proportion of sub-sale transactions.' Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion Group, added that more condos are due to obtain their Temporary Occupation Permit. Sub-sale volume might rise in line with the anticipated increase in units securing TOP, from 5,920 units in 2025 to 6,838 units in 2026 and further to 10,306 units in 2027, she said.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Healthcare facility planned for site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library after it moves to AMK Hub
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Possible future uses for the site could include a hospital, polyclinic, dental or medical clinic, veterinary clinic, nursing home or medical suite. SINGAPORE – The site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library is set to make way for a healthcare facility after the library moves to AMK Hub shopping mall in 2026. In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokeswoman for Link Asset Management, which manages AMK Hub, said the library will be located on the fourth storey of the mall, without elaborating. Cathay Cineplexes was located on the fourth storey before it shuttered on June 30. The current site of Ang Mo Kio Public Library has been zoned for health and medical care use, under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025, which was unveiled on June 25. Possible future uses for the 5,300 sq m site in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 could include a hospital, polyclinic, dental or medical clinic, veterinary clinic, nursing home or medical suite. The National Library Board (NLB) announced the library's relocation in a Facebook post on July 1, adding that library users can look forward to immersive and interactive experiences in the new space. The Ang Mo Kio Public Library opened in 1985 and went through upgrading works in 2002 and 2019. Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic is situated next to the library. Ms Chantel Kismet, 37, said she would miss the comfort and familiarity the library brought, as she used to attend a primary and secondary school nearby and would spend her afternoons in the library. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $500 in Child LifeSG credits, Edusave, Post-Sec Education Account top-ups to be disbursed in July Singapore PAP questions Pritam's interview with Malaysian podcast, WP says PAP opposing for the sake of opposing World Liverpool's Portuguese forward Diogo Jota dies in car crash in Spain Business 60 S'pore firms to get AI boost from Tata Consultancy as it launches a new innovation centre here Asia US tariff deal provides relief for Vietnam, and a sting in the tail for China Singapore Scoot launches flights to Da Nang, Kota Bharu and Nha Trang; boosts frequency to other destinations Singapore Electrician who bit off part of coworker's ear during fight gets 6 months' jail Asia 4 dead, 30 missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali 'I'm used to the way this library is categorised and it's easy for me to find what I need. It's a comfort being here, away from the hustle and bustle,' said Ms Kismet, who works as a doula (a non-medical professional who assists women during childbirth) and lives a 10-minute drive from the library. She said she takes her daughter, who is homeschooled, to the library every two weeks and would spend about an hour picking out books to borrow. 'It's become routine – we would visit the library and have chicken rice at the nearby coffee shop afterwards. I will miss this when the library moves,' she added. Library users told ST they were concerned about the potential crowds at the library's new space in AMK Hub in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, which is four bus stops away from its current site. Student Teo Wenhui, 18, said she enjoys going to the current library as she can usually find an available table to read or study. She noted that this may not be the case when the library moves to AMK Hub as the mall has high footfall. Mr Eugene Ho, 30, who works in food and beverage, said while he will miss the nostalgia of the current library, the new site in AMK Hub could be more convenient. 'Sometimes I just want to drop off some books and it can be a hassle to take the bus here from the MRT station,' he said. NLB said in its post that the library's new site in AMK Hub is conveniently linked to Ang Mo Kio MRT station and bus interchange. It will have tall wall bookshelves and design features inspired by the iconic landmarks of Ang Mo Kio. When ST visited AMK Hub on July 3, the fourth storey of the mall was cordoned off. A sign said the floor was closed for upgrading works. Housewife Ivy Loo, 49, said she hoped that another cinema operator would replace Cathay Cineplexes. 'My children are in their late teens and 20s. If we were to have a family outing, watching a movie would be preferred instead of going to a library,' she said. Other fourth-storey shops that have since closed include arcade operator Timezone and Western food chain Eighteen Chefs. Link Asset Management told ST in June that it will be reconfiguring the fourth-storey space and repositioning the mix of tenants to better serve the community. NLB did not provide more information when asked when the move would happen, as well as about potential disruptions to services at Ang Mo Kio Public Library as a result of the move. A listing by real estate firm ETC shows that a vacant food and beverage space for lease in the existing library has a lease term of until August 2026. Another standalone library that will be moving to a mall is Geylang East Public Library, which will be relocated to the refreshed Tanjong Katong Complex in 2030. Other public libraries located in malls include those in VivoCity in HarbourFront, Nex in Serangoon and White Sands in Pasir Ris.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business Times
Loyang Valley owners make third try for en bloc sale at S$880 million
[SINGAPORE] Changi condominium Loyang Valley is being put up for collective sale for S$880 million, in its third attempt at an en-bloc deal. The 99-year leasehold property sits on a 840,648 square feet (sq ft) plot of land, which now houses 362 apartments. Subject to planning approval, developers may build around 1,249 dwelling units, assuming an average unit size of 1,076 sq ft, marketing agent Huttons Asia said on Wednesday (Jul 2). The indicative price of S$880 million works out to a land cost of S$936 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), inclusive of an estimated Land Betterment Charge of approximately S$221 million, and a lease upgrading premium of approximately S$245 million after factoring in a 7 per cent bonus balcony gross floor area. Loyang Valley's first attempt at a collective sale was made in 2018, at a reserve price of S$750 million, but it failed to garner sufficient support. In 2022, the condominium was launched for sale at S$980 million, but pulled in no bids when the tender closed later that year. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Huttons Asia's head of investment sales Terence Lian said: 'Given current market dynamics, the reduced reserve price of S$100 million below the previous level offers a compelling and achievable opportunity for developers.' Owners stand to receive between S$1.67 million and S$3.9 million for their properties, which range from 1,001 sq ft for the smallest two-bedroom unit to 3,272 sq ft for the four-bedroom unit, the development's largest. Four units in Loyang Valley were sold this year, said URA Realis. The most recent sale was in May 2025, when a 1,980 sq ft unit changed hands for S$1.9 million or S$959 psf. Huttons' Lian said: 'Loyang Valley offers a rare opportunity to develop a tranquil residential enclave in the East, blending modern living with the charm of Changi's heritage.' Built in 1985, the development has 56 years left on its 99-year lease. Under the 2019 Master Plan, the site is zoned for residential use and has a gross plot ratio of 1.6. The last new launch in the Changi East area was freehold condominium Kassia, which sold 52 per cent of its 276 residential units on its launch weekend in July 2024. The prices ranged between S$1,821 and S$2,177 psf. The development's site on Flora Drive is being developed by Hong Leong Holdings, City Developments and TID. Significant infrastructure and industrial developments are expected in the Changi East area, and these include the Loyang Viaduct and the Cross Island Line, which will put a new Loyang MRT station next to the condo's site. The Changi East area now under development expand to nearly double the footprint of the current Changi Airport; it will add 10.8 sq km of new infrastructure, including Terminal 5, a third runway, the Changi East Industrial Zone and the Changi East Urban District. Loyang Valley is also near industrial hubs such as Aviation Logistics Park, Loyang Industrial Estate and Changi Business Park. Lian said: 'With growing demand from the semiconductor and aviation sectors in Tampines North, Pasir Ris and Changi, the site offers a strong rental catchment for investors, while providing residents with convenient access to job opportunities and lifestyle offerings.' The tender for Loyang Valley, to be launched on Jul 8, closes on Sep 9.
