Sembawang | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Malay | Sembawang(Rumi) سمباوڠ(Jawi) |
| • Chinese | 三巴旺 Sānbāwàng(Pinyin) Sam-pa-ōng(HokkienPOJ) |
| • Tamil | செம்பவாங் Cempavāṅ(Transliteration) |
  .jpg)   From top left to right:HDB flats along Sembawang Drive,Senoko Power Station, Sembawang Shipyard, MRT viaduct in Sembawang, Wak Hassan Beach | |
 Location of Sembawang in Singapore | |
.svg)  Sembawang Location of Sembawang within Singapore | |
| Coordinates:1°26′56.8″N103°49′6.58″E / 1.449111°N 103.8184944°E /1.449111; 103.8184944 | |
| Country |  Singapore |
| Region | North Region |
| CDC | |
| Town councils |
|
| Constituencies | |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | North West CDC |
| • Members of Parliament | Sembawang GRC |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.34 km2 (4.76 sq mi) |
| • Residential | 3.31 km2 (1.28 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 110,090 |
| • Density | 8,921/km2 (23,110/sq mi) |
| Dwelling units | 20,311 |
| Projected ultimate | 65,000 |
Sembawang (IPA:/səmˈbɑːwʌŋ/səm-BAH-wung) is aplanning area andresidential town located in theNorth Region ofSingapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered bySimpang to the east,Mandai to the south,Yishun to the southeast,Woodlands to the west and theStraits of Johor to the north.
Despite the relatively large development in the Sembawang New Town, the area remains largely suburban, with military, industrial andrecreational facilities at its periphery. It hosted a majornaval base and port facilities since the early 20th century, and continues to handle regular shipping traffic today along its wharves.
Sembawang has nine subzones, these areAdmiralty, Sembawang Central, Sembawang East, Sembawang North, Sembawang Springs, Sembawang Straits, Senoko North, Senoko South and the Wharves.
The earliest reference to Sembawang is found inFranklin and Jackson's 1830Map of Singapore, which refers to the River Tambuwang. The place is said to have got its name from thepokok sembawang (Malay for thekayae ferruginea), which has been renamedMesua ferruginea from 1980. This tree can be seen atSembawang Park.[4]
The Sembawang area in the early twentieth century was the site of theNee Soon Rubber estate. Duringcolonial times, Sembawang was home to a major British naval base, the construction of which began in 1928 and was completed in 1938.[5] The base includeddockyards,wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. The Naval Base has since been handed over to theSingapore government, which in 1968 converted it into a commercial dockyard[6] (as Sembawang Shipyard, now part ofSingapore Exchange-listedSembCorp Marine) that went on to become SembCorp, a major state-owned industrialconglomerate.
Extensiveland reclamation throughout Singapore has left Sembawang with one of the country's last natural beaches,[7][8] the Wak Hassan Beach located atSembawang Park. Today, the vegetable farms, rubberplantations and Chinese graveyards surrounding the former naval base have given way to modern housing, especially in the 1990s during the development of aNew Town by the SingaporeHousing and Development Board. The town remains a major port, with SembawangWharves handling a high volume of bulkcommodities cargo, such as timber and rubber.[9]
The planning of Sembawang New Town started in 1996 where the Woodlands MRT Extension was opened, andSembawang 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 firsthawker centre andpolyclinic atBukit Canberra, which opened progressively from July 2022 onwards.[11]
Sembawang once begun as a constituency namedSeletar but later carved out forming a dedicatedSembawang Single Member Constituency beginning in the1955, then resized to a smaller constituency leaving only the northern areas.
Sembawang has always been held by thePeople's Action Party since its formation and has been expanded to include subregions of Admiralty, Canberra and Naval Base since it became aGroup Representation Constituency. FormerPresident of SingaporeTony Tan Keng Yam was one of the notable Members of Parliament of Sembawang and helmed the constituency until2006;Tanjong Pagar GRC Member of Parliament and former Transport MinisterKhaw Boon Wan succeeded him as the anchor minister until2020, where he was taken over by current Health ministerOng Ye Kung, who first elected there in2015. One of Sembawang's divisions,Sembawang West, which was managed byPoh Li San, became an SMC in2025.[12]
| External image | |
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| Sembawang Naval Pier | |
 Sembawang Naval Pier, circa 1990s |
The completion ofRoyal Navy'sSingapore Naval Base (also known as HMS Sembawang) in 1938 andRAF Sembawang (also known as HMS Simbang) in March 1940 marked the start of military presence in Sembawang. In February 1942, both bases were partially torched and wrecked by the retreating British forces during theBattle of Singapore to deny their use by units of the advancingImperial Japanese Army. After the end ofWorld War II in 1945, both bases were reverted to British control and would eventually go on to play an important part in Britain's continued military presence in the Far East (along with the three other RAF bases in Singapore:RAF Changi,RAF Seletar andRAF Tengah) during the critical period ofMalayan Emergency (1948–1960), theBrunei Revolt in 1962 and during theIndonesia–Malaysia confrontation (1962–1966).
Despite thewithdrawal of some part of British forces from Singapore in 1971 and the handover of the Singapore Naval Base toSingaporean Government in 1968, the BritishMinistry of Defence (MoD) continues to maintainNaval 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 otherCommonwealth countries under the auspices ofFive Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA).[13] This special arrangement was also extended to the United States Navy since early 1960s to support the American involvement in theVietnam War.[13]
As part of a 1990 agreement between Singapore and the United States,American military forces (primarilynaval andair force) have been making use of Sembawang's base facilities. TheTask Force 73 (and Commander Logistic Group Western Pacific), part ofUS 7th Fleet, has been headquartered in Sembawang since 1992.[14]
The Sembawang Camp is aSingapore 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 theSingapore Army, as well as theRepublic of Singapore Navy'sNaval 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.
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 forYishun and Sembawang New Towns. The last of the villages,Kampong Wak Hassan, was cleared in 1998. Present day Sembawang Road is a major arterial road linking the Northern and Central portion of Singapore.
Many other roads in Sembawang are named after variousRoyal Navy dockyards,warships,admirals, countries and cities. Examples includeWellington,Canberra, Canada,Gibraltar,Kenya andFalkland. These names were given during the previous British administration, and reflect the town's history as a Britishnaval 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 andcanalized. The Southern portions of the river, which consisted ofmangroves, ponds and grassland, was filled in during the 1990s in preparation for the development of Sembawang New Town.
Sembawang is served by two MRT stations on theNorth-South Line -Sembawang andCanberra.
The former is located in the heart of Sembawang New Town, and offers connectivity to the Sembawang Bus Interchange, Sun Plaza shopping centre, and the Bukit Canberra integrated sports and community hub.
The latter is an infill station which serves the suburban estate of Sembawang Springs, and is connected to the Canberra Plaza suburban mall via a link bridge on one of its platforms.
TheSembawang 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 toSembawang Park and the other located along Admiralty Road West.
Sembawang has a total of five primary schools and two secondary schools.
Three shopping centres, includingSembawang Shopping Centre,Canberra Plaza andSun Plaza next to theSembawang MRT station.
Sembawang Public Library, which is managed by theNational Library Board and situated within the Sun Plaza shopping centre.
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