New pre-schools, primary school and sheltered linkway to Sembawang MRT in the works: Ong Ye Kung

SINGAPORE – Residents in Sembawang GRC can expect new developments such as more pre-schools, a high sheltered linkway to Sembawang MRT station and a new primary school in East Canberra by 2029.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced these upcoming initiatives on March 23 at the opening of two new facilities in the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub.

Forest Gym, an outdoor obstacle course, is dubbed the largest outdoor ActiveSG gym in Singapore. The other facility, Canberra Cove, is a water play area for children.

In a speech at the opening, Mr Ong – who is the anchor minister for Sembawang GRC – said the Ministry of Education is supportive of his proposal to build another primary school in East Canberra. He added that he is hopeful of getting good news from the ministry in the near future, and said residents will have another primary school by 2029 if “all goes well”.

Turning to pre-schools, he said there will be new centres at two Build-To-Order projects – Canberra Vista and Sun Sails. Each will have 300 places. A larger pre-school with 400 places will be built in East Canberra, he added.

“So therefore, in the coming two years, we will add 1,000 pre-school places in Sembawang town,” Mr Ong said.

He also told residents that a high linkway will be built across Sembawang Way – a road with two lanes in each direction – to provide a sheltered path to Sembawang MRT station.

Work will start soon, and the structure is slated to be ready by the end of 2026, he added.

Sembawang GRC MPs Lim Wee Kiak, Mariam Jaafar and Poh Li San attended the opening of the two facilities at the 12ha Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub.

The MPs tried their hand at clearing the obstacles – which include a traverse wall and vertical rope climb – at the Forest Gym during a tour of the facilities.

Sembawang resident Dennis Lim, 50, was showing his eight-year-old son Jayden how to clear the log jump.

“This obstacle reminds me of my time in the army during national service,” said Mr Lim, a shipping executive. “These obstacles will be great for my son to prepare for NS.”

A short distance from the obstacles, Canberra Cove was popular with children and adults.

There are two water play areas – one is a big, shallow wading pool while the other consists of areas with water fountains.

Mr Ong said more facilities at Bukit Canberra will open soon, including a dog run park, a new public library at the former Admiralty House as well as community and thematic gardens.

When Sembawang Shipyard moves out to Tuas in 2026, it will open up a big waterfront area for development, he noted.

Some 8,000 BTO flats and 2,000 private homes will be built in the

upcoming 53ha Sembawang North estate

.

Sembawang’s heritage area, known for its old black-and-white bungalows, may also see some development as 20 of the more than 100 bungalows have recently been tendered for commercial use that includes restaurants, serviced apartments and retail.

Mr Ong brought up Sembawang’s charms, such as being close to the sea, having a kampung mosque, a hot spring, forested areas and being close to Johor Bahru.

“We’ve got so many kampung folks still living here,” he said.

“So the vibe here is different. They are different from many towns in Singapore. And so we develop the town, but take care of a special characteristic.”

Correction note: In an earlier version of the story, it was reported that 20 of the more than 100 bungalows at Sembawang’s heritage area have recently been tendered for commercial use that includes restaurants, chalets and retail. The Singapore Land Authority has clarified that it should be serviced apartments instead of chalets.