The central district of Singapore is a wonderful place to live in for HDB owners because of the many facilities and amenities located there. Established HDB estates in the central district include Toa Payoh, Queenstown, Bukit Merah and Boon Keng. These places are located close to the city centre and are served by bus routes and MRT lines.
Sports Hub in the making
The central district is set to become a major sports hub with a massive sporting facility being planned in and around the Kallang basin. Once built, it will stage major sporting and entertainment events. The sports hub will also house a Sports Medicine and Sports Science Centre, Sports Library and Museum.
The facility will also consist of a new National Stadium capable of seating over 55,000 people, an Aquatic & Water Leisure Centre that can accommodate 6,000 people, a Multi-Purpose Indoor Arena, the Singapore Indoor Stadium as well as other commercial facilities.
Food paradise
Residents in the central district are spoilt for choice when it comes to the quality of eating establishments in their area. A number of hawker centres such as the one at Holland Village and Tiong Bahru Market have been upgraded and look cleaner and more modern. The good news is that there are also plans to upgrade the Geylang Serai Market and Haig Road hawker centre too.
Health is important
The central district is home to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Mount Alvernia Hospital, but there are plans to introduce more medical facilities in the area to cope with future demands. A new hospital site has already been launched in Novena and more sites may be launched in other fringe neighbourhoods such as Anak Bukit. These developments are sure to contribute to Singapore’s reputation as a medical tourism hub.
Education
There are many good educational institutions located in the central district including Raffles Institution, Hwa Chong Institution and ACSI. For institutions of higher learning, there is the National University of Singapore (NUS) which is undergoing extensive upgrading at the moment.
By 2010, new facilities such as hostels will be built at NUS and a new University Town will be opened on the site of the former Warren Golf Course. The University will also begin enrollment of students at the new Duke Graduate Medical School this year which will enhance the university’s status as a leader in the region for postgraduate medical studies.
Community Facilities
To foster greater community spirit, there are plans to build more public facilities. Bishan is already home to a state-of-the-art community library located next to the Bishan MRT Station. Over at Buona Vista, a new Community Club is being constructed. There will also be a 5,000-seat performance auditorium within the Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex (CCRC) at one-north.
In order to make life more convenient for residents, more of these facilities will be co-located. One such example is the Queensway Fire Station which is located together with a Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) and 1st SCDF Division HQ. Meanwhile for the Muslim residents, they can look forward to an Islamic Hub being created in Braddell which will include the MUIS headquarters and a mosque.
Travelling made convenient…
Residents in the Central district have access to the North-South as well as North-East MRT lines. Adding to this is the 34km Circle Line which will be fully operational by next year. For residents who need to go to the city for work, the opening of the Eastern Region Line, Downtown Line 2 and 3 and Thomson Line will make commuting a whole lot easier.
As for drivers, they can look forward to the final stretch of the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and the proposed North South Expressway (NSE). At the same time, they can expect smoother traffic, thanks to the widening of major roads like Paya Lebar Road and Eunos Link and improvements at major road interchanges like Woodsville.
Did you know…
lCentral Region is but one of five regions which make up the whole of Singapore. It is the second largest region in terms of land area, including the Central Area.
lThe tallest hotel in South Asia (Swissôtel The Stamford) as well as the three tallest buildings in Singapore (OUB Centre, UOB Plaza One, and Republic Plaza) are all located in the Central Region, or more precisely in the Central Area.