Bishan to get 200,000 sq m of new office space, matching scale of Paya Lebar Central: Chee Hong Tat
SINGAPORE: Plans to develop Bishan into a new business hub could see the introduction of around 200,000 sq m of new office space to the area, said National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat on Thursday (Jun 26).
This will match the scale of that in Paya Lebar Central, which currently includes office spaces spread out across the sprawling Paya Lebar Quarter mixed-use development and SingPost Centre.
In a video posted on Facebook, Mr Chee also said that work on a new hawker centre integrated with a revamped bus interchange, and a polyclinic in Bishan town centre will start in this term of government and take several years to complete.
Plans to refresh Bishan town centre were unveiled in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Draft Master Plan 2025 on Wednesday.
Redevelopment plans for the area are part of a "decentralisation strategy" to create economic areas beyond the city centre and bring jobs closer to homes.
To kickstart the development of this new business hub, selected government agencies are exploring the feasibility of relocating their offices to Bishan town centre, URA has said.
Other plans for the area include turning Bishan Place – located next to Junction 8 shopping centre and the bus interchange – into a pedestrian mall, and improved connectivity for residents, said Mr Chee, who is a Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
For instance, residents will be able to cycle to upcoming recreational spaces such as those along the North-South Corridor and Kallang River via new cycling paths.
There are also plans for a walking and cycling street along the developments in Bishan Road that will be connected to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, he said.
The draft master plan is a statutory land use plan that outlines Singapore's development priorities over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years.
The latest edition also included plans for new neighbourhoods in areas such as Newton, Paterson, Dover-Medway along Dover Road, the former site of Singapore Racecourse in Kranji, as well as Paya Lebar Air Base and the Sembawang Shipyard area.
Together with earlier announced housing developments in Bukit Timah Turf City and Mount Pleasant, at least 80,000 new public and private homes are expected to be built in more than 10 new neighbourhoods across Singapore over the next 10 to 15 years.
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