The Draft Master Plan 2025 outlines a comprehensive land use and development plan for Singapore over the next 10 to 15 years, for a more liveable, inclusive and endearing city. 

The plan outlines concrete actions and initiatives to be implemented across various sectors, aiming to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future for all Singaporeans. Through this, URA aims to build a stronger community while catering to diverse aspirations, meet evolving needs to sustain a vibrant economy, protect against the effects of climate change and respond nimbly to any crisis, and foster a sense of belonging and enhance its natural capital.

Sustainable development is a major theme in the Draft Master Plan, while new neighbourhoods and lifestyle areas are in progress, URA also wants 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.

Moving towards a more inclusive community, the government will introduce a mix of public and private housing in these 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 see 5,000 new public housing units in the future.

These new neighbourhoods will be gazetted as car-lite and designed as a “10-minute neighbourhood”, where key amenities and public transport are within a 10-minute walk; it includes Bukit Timah Turf Club, Pearl’s Hill, and Marina South.

New enclaves such as Marina South will also be a “sustainable town”. 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 the National Parks Board’s Landscape Master Plan to allow the movement of wildlife and provide shelter for pedestrians.

“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, water sports activities and multi-functional spaces for homes, recreation, and nature.

At Jurong Lake District, 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.

URA is also exploring 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.

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.

Pulau Ubin’s natural beauty and heritage will also be preserved, but plans are underway to improve its accessibility from the mainland of Singapore.

Identity nodes

URA aims to create unique identities for different areas while preserving their heritage. 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 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. 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.

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.

National Day Rally 2024

Prime Minister Lawrence Wrong announced that Singapore is set to remake its southern coast with a continuous 120km-long waterfront stretching from Pasir Panjang Terminal to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, offering many possibilities to imagine and build its future city.

As part of this transformation, new homes will be added to waterfront precincts near the city, in Marina East and Nicoll – an area between Marina Bay and the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang.

Singapore’s southern coastline will comprise the Greater Southern Waterfront, Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and the future Long Island project, which could create 800ha of reclaimed land off East Coast Park. On plans to remake the city centre, PM Wong shared that three water bodies – Marina Bay, Marina Channel and Kallang Basin – will form a “continuous waterfront in the heart of our city”.

Detailed plans for the Nicoll precinct, which spans about 59ha, are being studied in conjunction with the future Bay Central Garden. For Kampong Bugis, a future 17.4ha housing precinct that was set to have 4,000 private homes was removed from URA’s list of Government Land Sales sites in 2022 due to delays in soil remediation works.

Situated in the 150ha Marina East, Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and the Founders’ Memorial will become a mainly residential precinct with a mix of housing options. A pedestrian bridge to link Bay South Garden with Bay East Garden and the Founders’ Memorial will also be built and is slated to open in 2028.

Over in the 88ha Tanjong Rhu, new homes are also being added to the more than 5,000 existing ones there. The Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II Build-To-Order projects launched in June are the first public housing projects there in 60 years.

Kallang Alive Masterplan

PM Wong elaborated on the master plan for the precinct around Kallang, he announced that the Singapore Sports School would be moved from its current location in Woodlands to the Sports Hub. The relocation will provide a strong base and new home for Team Singapore and allow young aspiring student-athletes to study and train alongside their senior counterparts in a central location.

This will be further enhanced by more new training and sports science facilities to ensure that Singaporean athletes are equipped and prepared to take on the best in the world.

PM Wong also shared details about the future of the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which will be replaced by a new 18,000-seat facility that will enable it to host major international events and allow more Singaporean athletes to enjoy the advantage of competing on home soil.

Together, the plans for Kallang Alive and the Sports Hub aim to ensure that sports and athletes will remain a vital and central part of Singaporean society for years to come.

Rounding off his speech, PM Wong said he believes Singapore’s best days lie ahead, adding that the country has “new ambitions to pursue” and is “taking bold steps to turn our hopes into reality”.