Agencies reviewing plans to develop more vegetation in Serangoon River forest: Alvin Tan

SINGAPORE – Government agencies are reviewing plans to develop more vegetation along the eastern bank of the Serangoon River, Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan told Parliament on Jan 14.

A coalition of residents and nature advocates has called for an environmental study on works on

Lorong Halus bus depot

, sited on one of several tracts of woodland on the eastern bank of the river. The woodland has been informally dubbed the Serangoon River forest.

Reiterating their call, Workers’ Party MP Dennis Tan (Hougang) spoke in Parliament about the need to rethink the redevelopment and preservation of green spaces in Singapore.

In response, Mr Alvin Tan reiterated that the area east of the river, also known as Sungei Serangoon, has been zoned for industrial use since the 1998 Master Plan.

He said the land was intended to be progressively developed to bring economic development and jobs closer to residents of nearby towns, such as Hougang and Sengkang, and to future residents of the upcoming towns at Defu and

Paya Lebar Air Base

.

Plots of vegetation along the river stretch from Tampines Road to Serangoon East Dam.

The bus depot in the area was rezoned and published in the Government Gazette in December 2023, said Mr Alvin Tan, who is also Minister of State for Trade and Industry.

It was deemed that an environmental study was not needed because it was not a sensitive nature area, the environmental impact of the depot was limited and its habitats generally had lower ecological value, he added.

“So this is a considered decision and we will not revisit the matter,” he said.

Beyond the bus depot, the agencies will review “potential development plans for the remaining areas” and continue to carefully plan for the provision of greenery and recreation spaces there.

Citing the development of the Serangoon River forest, Mr Dennis Tan had called for the Government to recognise the ecological premium of established greenery and prioritise green spaces based on their regional function, as part of a slew of suggestions to improve Singapore’s approach to developing green spaces.

“As the Government plans the massive new HDB town at the Paya Lebar Air Base site, it must recognise that large parts of the limited existing green spaces within and on the eastern fringe of the airbase will be developed or severely affected by the construction,” he said.

He suggested that the Government can retain the Serangoon River forest to mitigate any heat impact from the future town, instead of relying on artificially created parks.

He also called on agencies to clearly demonstrate that they had explored avoiding and minimising the reduction of green spaces, before mitigation measures are proposed.

According to him, residents who appealed to the authorities for the bus depot site to be shifted were not given a reason why it had to be sited in the middle of the forested area between Buangkok East Drive and Tampines Road.

A Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson said in a statement on Jan 14 that the bus depot will serve as an operating base for bus services in the east and north-east regions, as the relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base is expected to start from the 2030s.

LTA said: “New public transport infrastructure needs to be introduced ahead of time to support public transport connectivity to these areas and provide additional capacity in the east and north-east regions for a growing bus fleet to better serve commuters, especially for growing towns and estates, and connect them to employment centres.”

It was responding to queries from The Straits Times sent in November 2025.

The authority said the future Lorong Halus industrial area was assessed to be the most suitable site in the east and north-east regions to meet the requirements of a bus depot, considering factors such as its size, location and availability of other sites.

It said measures will be put in place to limit the environmental impact and protect any wildlife in the area.

These include earth control measures to prevent untreated discharge and sediment from entering water bodies and forested areas, hoarding up the entire worksite, conducting pre-tree felling checks for bird nests and other wildlife before clearing the site.

LTA also said it conducts environmental monitoring and compliance checks on its contractor.

Areas zoned for business use have catered for “adequate buffer between the development and nearby residential premises” to minimise nuisance impacts. The bus depot is located 200m from the nearest residential development.

A 12m-high temporary noise barrier facing the residential area has been installed to insulate sound from construction activities, LTA added.

When completed, the Lorong Halus bus depot is expected to house at least 550 buses.