Tampines - Historical Background

The name "Tampines" originated from the name of a valuable timber tree. The name of the tree was formerly spelt as "Tampinis". It was changed to "Tampines" as it was the nearest romanised version of the word. The tree provided a strong and durable ironwood timber which was in great demand in the early days. As there was no forest conservation during those days, the popular demand of the wood from the Tampines tree almost made it extinct by the early eighties. There used to be a village also named "Tampines" along the 7th mile Upper Serangoon Road.

Location of Tampines New Town

The Tampines Planning Area is located within the East Region. It is bounded by the Tampines Expressway and Pan-Island Expressway to the north; Changi Airport to the east; Bedok Canal and the sea to the south and southeast and Tampines Ave 10 to the West.

Existing Conditions of Tampines New Town

POPULATION

1990 Population Census
176,800

HOUSING UNITS
Low-Density
1,300
Medium-Density
1,900
High-Density
61,300
TOTAL
64,500

LAND OWNERSHIP
State Land
68%
HDB
21%
Jurong Town Corporation (JTC)
6%
Private
5%

LAND USE DISTRIBUTION
Broad Land Use
Land Area
Ha
%
Residential
389
19
Commercial
33
2
Industry
65
3
Institutions
116
6
Open Space & Recreation
412
20
Road & Infrastructure
315
15
Waterbody
24
1
Undeveloped Land / Other
707
34
Total
2,061
100

Tampines New Town Subzones Planning

The Tampines Planning Area is made up of 5 sub-zones. The land area of each sub-zone is shown below. The sub-zone boundaries are shown in the Boundaries & Sub-Zone Plan.

LAND AREA
Sub-Zones
Land Area
Ha
%
Tampines North
258
13
Tampines East
442
21
Tampines West
332
16
Simei
225
11
Xinlin
804
39
TOTAL
2,061
100

Tampines New Town Planning Proposal

The key proposals for Tampines include providing more residential and commercial developments around the MRT stations (to optimise the used of land) and parks.

Tampines New Town - Residential

The total housing stock in the Tampines Planning Area will reach 84,500 units. This will be an increase of about 20,000 units over the existing number. The overall breakdown by density types is listed in the table below. To enhance the existing good mix of residential housing forms in the area, new low, medium and high density housing will be introduced.

PROPOSED HOUSING UNITS
Residential Density
Housing Units
%
Low-Density
1,970
2
Medium-Density
7,790
9
High-Density
74,740
89
TOTAL
84,500
100

Tampines New Town - Commercial

The Tampines Regional Centre is the first and most developed regional centre in Singapore. Residents have now the option to work, shop and play at the regional centre. As a wide range of shops, offices and entertainment facilities are conveniently located near their homes, residents have more time for leisure and family. The Tampines Planning Area is also well served by seven other neighbourhood centres. The total proposed commercial floor space in the planning area is about 470,600m square.

COMMERCIAL AREA RATIO
Types of Commercial Centre
Existing & Committed
Proposed
Regional Centre
243,000
322,800
HDB Neighbouhood Centre
103,000
103,000
Private Neighbourhood Centre
-
44,800
TOTAL
346,000
470,600

Tampines New Town - Industrial

There will be a total of 163 ha proposed industrial land within Tampines Planning Area. They are located in Tampines Industrial Park 'A', Bedok Industrial Park 'E' and Changi South Industrial Estate.

INDUSTRY LAND AREA DISTRIBUTION
Type
Land Area (ha)
Existing
Proposed
Business Park
-
67
Light Industry
65
96
TOTAL
65
163

Tampines New Town - Recreational

A new town park is proposed north of the Regional Centre. It will be called the 'Sun Plaza Park'. A park connected is proposed to link Pasir Ris Park along Sungei Tampines to the Sun Plaza and the Bedok Reservoir Parks. After which it will be sited along the Bedok Canal to link up with the East Coast Park.

PARKS & GARDENS
Type
Proposed (ha)
Town Park
10.0
Neighbourhood Park
33.6
TOTAL
43.6

Tampines New Town - Facilities

A total of 14 primary and 11 secondary schools together with 1 junior college are provided in the Tampines Planning Area, as illustrated below. Besides religious and community buildings, other facilities proposed in the planning area include the Temasek Polytechnic and the Eastern General Hospital.

SCHOOLS
Schools
Number
Primary School
14
Secondary School
11
Junior College
1

Tampines New Town - Vision & Objectives

An Eastern Regional Hub and Model Town Next to a World-Class Airport