Sembawang

Sembawang
Hokkien POJ)
• Tamil	செம்பவாங் Cempavāṅ (Transliteration)
From top left to right: HDB flats along Sungei Sembawang, Senoko Power Station, Sembawang Shipyard, MRT viaduct in Sembawang, Wak Hassan Beach
Location of Sembawang in Singapore
Sembawang Location of Sembawang within Singapore
Coordinates: 1°26′56.8″N 103°49′6.58″E / 1.449111°N 103.8184944°E / 1.449111; 103.8184944
Country	Singapore
Region	North Region
CDC	North West CDC
Town council	Sembawang Town Council
Constituency	Sembawang GRC
Government
• Mayor	North West CDC Alex Yam
• Members of Parliament	Sembawang GRC Poh Li San Lim Wee Kiak Ong Ye Kung Vikram Nair Mariam Jaafar
Area [1][2]
• Total	12.34 km2 (4.76 sq mi)
• Residential	3.31 km2 (1.28 sq mi)
Population  (2019)[1][2][3]
• Total	95,920
• Density	7,800/km2 (20,000/sq mi)
Dwelling units	20,311
Projected ultimate	65,000

Sembawang is a

Despite the relatively large development in the Sembawang New Town, the area remains largely suburban, with military, industrial and recreational facilities at its periphery. It hosted a major naval base and port facilities since the early 20th century, and continues to handle regular shipping traffic today along its wharves.

Etymology

The earliest reference to Sembawang is found in

The planning of Sembawang New Town started in 1996 where the Woodlands MRT Extension was opened, and Sembawang MRT station was also opened at the same time. When the station was opened, the area was undeveloped except the Canberra Road and the then-developing Sembawang New Town. This was resolved in 1998 because of the accelerating development of Sembawang New Town, which was completed in 2004. These HDB flats were within Sembawang, Canberra and Gambas division.^[10]

In late 2022, Sembawang had their first hawker centre and polyclinic at Bukit Canberra, which opened progressively from July 2022 onwards.^[11]

Politics

Sembawang once begun as a constituency named

External image
Sembawang Naval Pier
Sembawang Naval Pier, circa 1990s

The completion of

Despite the withdrawal of British forces from Singapore in 1971 and the handover of the Singapore Naval Base to the Singapore Government in 1968, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to maintain a small logistics base at Sembawang wharf to control most of the foreign military activities there, which includes repair, refuel and resupply for ships of the Australian, British and New Zealand navies as well as those from other Commonwealth countries under the auspices of Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA).^[12] This special arrangement was also extended to the United States Navy since early 1960s to support the American involvement in the Vietnam War.^[12]

As part of a 1990 agreement between Singapore and the United States,

The Sembawang Camp is a Singapore Armed Forces military base on Admiralty Road, open only to military personnel on official business. The camp houses the 1st and 3rd Transport Battalion of the Singapore Army, as well as the Republic of Singapore Navy's Naval Diving Unit (NDU). Also, the compound housing the Naval Diving Unit was previously known as Terror Camp in deference to the old admin and Officers club section of the Royal Naval facility which was called HMS Terror.

Transportation facilities

Sembawang Road is one of the key roads built to connect the naval base to the city centre in the South. This road began as a track in the 1920s and was officially named Sembawang Road in 1938. Buses operated by various private companies were then the main mode of transport. The thoroughfare was also dotted with many villages along its length: Chye Kay Village, Sungei Simpang Village, Chong Pang Village, Sembawang Village. Most of these villages were cleared during the 1970s–1990s to make way for

Many other roads in Sembawang are named after various Royal Navy dockyards, warships, admirals, countries and cities. Examples include Wellington, Canberra, Canada, Gibraltar, Kenya and Falkland. These names were given during the previous British administration, and reflect the town's history as a British naval base.

The main river running through Sembawang, the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) long Sungei Sembawang, flowed along a winding route and ended to the west of Sembawang Shipyard. Its middle section was diverted in the 1920s to provide the land needed for the British Naval Base. During the 1970s, the Northern portions of the river was straightened and canalized. The Southern portions of the river, which consisted of mangroves, ponds and grassland, was filled in during the 1990s in preparation for the development of Sembawang New Town.

Public transport

Rail

Two MRT stations are located in the area. They are Sembawang MRT station and Canberra MRT station.

Bus services

The Sembawang Bus Interchange, located next to Sun Plaza, was completed on 20 November 2005. This replaced the old bus terminals located at the Northern tip of Sembawang Road, just next to Sembawang Park and the other located along Admiralty Road West.

Education

Sembawang has a total of five primary schools and two secondary schools.

• Five primary schools, including Sembawang Primary School, Canberra Primary School, Endeavour Primary School, Wellington Primary School, and Northoaks Primary School.
• Two secondary schools, including Sembawang Secondary School and Canberra Secondary School.

Amenities

Commercial

Three shopping centres, including Sembawang Shopping Centre, Canberra Plaza and Sun Plaza next to the Sembawang MRT station.

Parks, recreational and sport venues

Sembawang Public Library, which is managed by the National Library Board and situated within the Sun Plaza shopping centre.

• Bukit Canberra, an integrated sports and community hub with amenities such as a hawker centre, polyclinic, a senior care centre, a childcare centre, and several parks, which officially opened on 17 December 2022.^[14]
• British Eastern Fleet, 1940–1942). A wide range of fauna and flora awaits visitors, ranging from the spectacular cannonball tree (Couroupita guianensis) to the many species of birds which have made the park their nesting grounds.^[15]
  Within the park is a Battleship-themed outdoor playground that pays tribute to the area's naval history.
• Sembawang Hot Spring Park is the only hot spring park found in Singapore. It is located along [Gambas Avenue] near the junction with Sembawang Road. It reopened on 4 January 2020 after upgrading works, and now features a cascading pool and cafe.^[16] Main attractions here are dipping your feet in the spring water and cooking eggs in the spring water.
• The Sembwang Park Connector is part of the Park Connector Network managed by the National Parks Board. As their name imply, these connectors aim to form a continuous loop which would hopefully connect all the major parks is a
  planning area and residential town located the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Johor
  to the north.

• The Northern Village. Godfrey Robert, Sharon Han, NBSS Book Project Committee. Singapore. 2020.
  OCLC 1237603797.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link
  )
• Chronicles of Remembrance: Stories of Sembawang GRC Residents for Everyone. 2015.
• Aravindan, Kamaladevi (2020). Sembawang-A Novel. Anitha Devi Pillai. MarshallCavendishEditions: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited.
  OCLC 1202463898
  .