Government announces plans for Jurong Lake District

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
04 April 2008

SINGAPORE: Singapore is planning to have its very own lake district in Jurong, which will be a magnet for business and leisure.

The Jurong Lake District – made up of two precincts, Jurong Gateway and Lakeside – will offer a potential development area of 360 hectares or about the size of Marina Bay.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced this when he unveiled the government's Draft Master Plan 2008 on Friday. This plan will guide Singapore's land use over the next 10 to 15 years.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said the Jurong Lake District is expected to attract investments worth billions of dollars.

Under the proposed plan, some 750,000 square metres of land will be set aside at Jurong Gateway for offices, hotels, food and beverage, and entertainment uses.

It is also expected to add about 2,800 hotel rooms, equivalent to the hotel belt at the Singapore River area. Land to build 1,000 new private homes will be available as well.

URA said the Jurong Gateway is set to be the biggest commercial hub outside the city centre – nearly 2.5 times the size of the Tampines Regional Centre.

Lakeside, which is the other component of the Jurong Lake District, has been earmarked to be the next waterfront playground.

Urban planners said there will be plenty of leisure options there, including nature-themed and edu-tainment attractions.

But the centrepiece will be a new world-class Science Centre to be located next to the Chinese Garden MRT station.

Visitors can also look forward to lush greenery and water-based activities like kayaking and dragon boating at Lakeside.


- CNA/so