The Paya Lebar Air Base and its surrounding industrial areas will free up a plot of land five times the size of Toa Payoh. This area will not be developed all at once but will be developed progressively to allow for future flexibility.
In an interview with The Straits Times, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) chief planner, Ms Hwang Yu-Ning, said: “Paya Lebar is a very large area, and we will build it up progressively. We won’t use up all the land at once.”
“We will build it up over time, and this time dimension allows us the flexibility to adjust our plans.”
The authorities recently emphasized the importance of flexibility in long-term plans, which guide Singapore’s development for the next 50 years and beyond. It said this will allow future generations to adapt and adjust to unforeseen events like the Covid-19 pandemic.
The air base, currently occupied by the Republic of Singapore Air Force, will begin relocating from 2030, freeing up 800 hectares of land.
A new town will rise up, and its surrounding area will include housing and recreational facilities, while also providing job opportunities.
Ms Hwang said the development timeline for this area will be similar to that of the Jurong Lake District, which is being developed into an economic hub in the west—a massive transformation project. It will be continuously developed over the next 20 to 30 years, and the government will also prioritize selling sites in this area.
She said: “We might start building Paya Lebar in a more concentrated manner to achieve some critical mass. But over time, we will make more adjustments.”
“Just like with the Jurong Lake District, we built Westgate and JEM shopping malls, where there is a certain critical mass. Then, as we develop new plots, we will adjust the ratio of office and other uses.”
However, the development of this plot will not be a carbon copy of the 700-hectare Tengah new town currently under construction. Ms Hwang said that Tengah’s five districts are being built simultaneously, with its main purpose being to meet housing demand.
She added that once the new Paya Lebar town is ready, it could function as a regional hub, similar to Woodlands, Tampines, Punggol Digital District, and one-north. These hubs bring offices closer to homes by offering a mix of work, residential, and recreational spaces, away from the Central Business District.
The new Paya Lebar town will also provide an opportunity for planners to connect Hougang and Tampines, she said. Currently, people have to go around the air base to travel between these two areas.
Last September, Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah said that two conceptual masterplans for the air base area are in progress, and the outcomes of these plans will be shared with the public this year.
Each plan is being developed by a team comprising the Singapore Institute of Planners and the Singapore Institute of Architects, in collaboration with the URA.
The URA’s 2019 Master Plan indicated that development in this area would build upon its former identity as an airport and air base.
Ms Hwang said that this fundamentally also applies to the Greater Southern Waterfront–stretching from Pasir Panjang to Marina East.
She said: “How do we make the new development in an area respect the old history that happened here, and be able to bring back memories of this history–without always preserving the historical parts of the area? This is very important to us.”
“We are also working with heritage communities to try to incorporate this more into our planning.”
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