Bukit Merah | |
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| Other transcription(s) | |
| • English | Bukit Merah / Redhill |
| • Chinese | 红山 /紅山[a] Hóngshān(Pinyin) Âng-soaⁿ(HokkienPOJ) Hung4 Saan1(CantoneseJyutping) |
| • Malay | Bukit Merah(Rumi) بوكيت ميره(Jawi) |
| • Tamil | புக்கிட் மேரா Pukkiṭ Mērā(Transliteration) |
     From top left to right:HarbourFront,Singapore Improvement Trust flats inTiong Bahru, Skyline of Redhill,Henderson Waves, Jetty atLabrador Nature Reserve | |
 Location in Central Region | |
.svg)  Bukit Merah Location of Bukit Merah within Singapore | |
| Coordinates:1°16′54.86″N103°49′26.11″E / 1.2819056°N 103.8239194°E /1.2819056; 103.8239194 | |
| Country |  Singapore |
| Region | Central Region |
| CDCs | |
| Town councils |
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| Constituencies | |
| Government | |
| • Mayors | Central Singapore CDC South West CDC |
| • Members of Parliament | Jalan Besar GRC Radin Mas SMC Tanjong Pagar GRC West Coast GRC |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.34 km2 (5.54 sq mi) |
| • Residential | 3.12 km2 (1.20 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 148,270 |
| • Density | 10,000/km2 (27,000/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Chinese | 120,830 |
| • Malays | 11,430 |
| • Indians | 13,980 |
| • Others | 5,010 |
| Postal districts | 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 |
| Dwelling units | 51,885 |
| Projected ultimate | 68,000 |
Bukit Merah, also known asRedhill, is aplanning area andnew town situated in the southernmost part of theCentral Region of Singapore. The planning area bordersTanglin to the north,Queenstown to the west and theDowntown Core,Outram andSingapore River planning areas of theCentral Area to the east. It also shares a maritime boundary with theSouthern Islands planning area to the south. Bukit Merah is linked toSentosa Island via Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Broadwalk,Sentosa Express and theCable Car.
Bukit Merah planning area also includes two offshore islands which are linked to the mainland by road, namelyPulau Brani andKeppel Island. It is the most populated planning area in the Central Region, and the 12th most populated planning area in the country overall, being home to more than 150,000 residents.[5]
Bukit Merah translates to “redhill” inMalay, and is a reference to the red-colouredlateritic soil found on the hill. According to theSejarah Melayu, Singapore used to be plagued byswordfish attacking the people living in the coastal regions. A young boy namedHang Nadim proposed an ingenious solution, to build a wall of banana stems along the coast at the present location ofTanjong Pagar.
When the swordfish attacked, their snouts were stuck in the stems. With the swordfish problem solved, Hang Nadim earned great respect from the people, but also jealousy from the rulers. The fourth King ofSingapura,Paduka Seri Maharaja, finally ordered his execution, and it was said that his blood-soaked the soil of the hill where he was killed, giving rise to the red-coloured hill.[6]
The hill was eventually trimmed to its current state in 1973, when it made way for Redhill Close and what would eventually become the now defunctHenderson Secondary School. During its existence, a Chinese cemetery was situated on the reverse side of this hill, which is today, the location ofTiong Bahru.
Keppel Harbour dates back to the 14th century when an ancient Chinese traveller,Wang Dayuan named the harbour"Long-Ya-Men" or "Dragon Teeth Gate" after two rock outcrops located near Labrador Park, which resembled dragon's teeth. The two rock outcrops were subsequently blown up by theStraits Settlements Surveyor, John Thomson, in August 1848 to widen the entrance a new harbour.
With the earliest records of Bukit Merah's existence in theMalay Annals, the town had a huge role to play in the early maritime trade of theKingdom of Singapura.
Mount Faber was once known as Telok Blangah Hill. Its name was changed to Mount Faber after Captain Edward Faber cut the road up to the top in 1845 to set up a signal station. TheSingapore General Hospital site dates back to 1882. Labrador Nature Park was used as a defence outpost in the 19th century untilWorld War II.[7]
The town's fertile red soil was employed to great effect when it was a district rich in gambier cultivation during British colonial rule.[8]
Even before the industrialisation ofJurong, Bukit Merah already had a small head start in the emerging heavy industry market in Singapore. With the first brickwork factories and mills emerging in the precincts of Henderson Hill and Redhill as early as the 1930s.[9]
The town is also home to the first housing estate in the country,Tiong Bahru, which was developed by theSingapore Improvement Trust in the backdrop of a rapidly growing population inpost-war Singapore. The estate later became the basis of what would eventually become the first new town in the Republic, Queenstown.
According to the various master plans laid out by theUrban Redevelopment Authority, Bukit Merah is bounded byAlexandra Canal and theSingapore River to the north and HarbourFront andKeppel Bay to the south, Kim Seng Road, Outram Road andCantonment Road to the east and Alexandra Road to the west. There are 17[10] subzones within the planning area, includingAlexandra,Bukit Ho Swee, Bukit Merah, City Terminals, Depot Road,Everton Park,HarbourFront, Henderson Hill, Redhill,Singapore General Hospital,Telok Blangah andTiong Bahru.
| Name of subzones | Location | Notable structures | Accessibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandra | Areas along Alexandra Road, Jalan Bukit Merah, Jalan Rumah Tinggi and Hoy Fatt Road | Alexandra Primary School, Alexandra Central, Alexandra Village, AIA Building and IKEA Alexandra | Labrador Park MRT station,Redhill MRT station and buses |
| Bukit Ho Swee | Areas along Jalan Bukit Ho Swee and Delta | Beo Crescent Market, Havelock Food Centre, Kim Seng Community Centre andSingapore Examinations and Assessment Board | Tiong Bahru MRT station,Havelock MRT station and buses |
| Bukit Merah | Areas along Bukit Merah Central | Bukit Merah Town Centre,Bukit Merah Bus Interchange, Bukit Merah Polyclinic, Former HDB Centre, Bukit Merah Secondary School and Gan Eng Seng Primary School | Buses |
| City Terminals | Pulau Brani and areas nearKeppel Harbour | Port of Singapore Keppel Terminal,Police Coast Guard Headquarters andSt. James Power Station | Keppel MRT station (future) and buses. Keppel Terminal is a restricted area |
| Depot Road | Areas along Depot Road | Central Manpower Base,Defence Science and Technology Agency, Depot Heights Shopping Centre, ISS International School andThe Interlace | Buses |
| Everton Park | Areas bounded byCantonment Road, Neil Road, Keppel Road | Cantonment Primary School,Former Tanjong Pagar railway station,Kampong Bahru Bus Terminal andPolice Cantonment Complex | Cantonment MRT station (future), buses |
| HarbourFront | Bukit Merah South | HarbourFront Bus Interchange,HarbourFront Centre,Singapore Cruise Centre,VivoCity | HarbourFront MRT station, buses,cable car,Sentosa Express |
| Henderson Hill | Bukit Merah West | Bukit Merah West NPC,Delta Sports Complex, Gan Eng Seng School, Henderson Community Club andTiong Bahru Park | Buses |
| Redhill | Northwestern Bukit Merah | Redhill Market and Food Centre, Leng Kee Community Centre and Enabling Village | Redhill MRT station, buses |
| Singapore General Hospital | Bukit Merah East | Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School,Health Promotion Board,Health Sciences Authority, Outram Community Hospital & SingHealth Tower, Outram Polyclinic and Singapore General Hospital | Outram Park MRT station, buses |
| Telok Blangah | Bukit Merah South | Blangah Rise Primary School, CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent,Mount Faber Park, Radin Mas Community Club, Radin Mas Primary School, Tang Gah Beo Temple, SAFRA Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Community Club andTelok Blangah Hill Park | Telok Blangah MRT station, buses |
| Tiong Bahru | Area bounded by Jalan Bukit Ho Swee, Outram Road, CTE, AYE and Lower Delta Road | Tiong Bahru Community Centre, Tiong Bahru Market,Tiong Bahru Plaza and Zhangde Primary School | Tiong Bahru MRT station, buses |
Outram Park MRT station was the first station to open in the planning area in 1987, followed by the namesake Redhill MRT station and Tiong Bahru MRT station in 1988. Today, there are currently 7MRT stations that serve the planning area across 4 lines, theEast West line,Circle line,North East line and theThomson-East Coast line. HarbourFront MRT station is an interchange station between the North East line and the Circle line, which is also the current terminus for both lines. Outram Park MRT station was initially a double-line interchange station between the East West and North East lines but became a triple-line interchange station after the commencement of the third stage of theThomson–East Coast line in 2022. The 7 stations are:
Future stations that are currently under construction include:
The future stations,Keppel andCantonment will be located within the new town as part of Stage 6 of the Circle line that will be completed by 2026.[11]
There are two bus interchanges and one bus terminal in the new town. TheBukit Merah Bus Interchange, which serves Bukit Merah, is located at Bukit Merah Town Centre. Service Number 132 links the Interchange toRedhill MRT station while bus services 5, 16, and 851 link the interchange toTiong Bahru MRT station. There are two feeder services originating from the interchange which serves theTelok Blangah estate. TheHarbourFront Bus Interchange is located at the southern part of Bukit Merah, serving nearby amenities such as theHarbourFront Centre andVivoCity, the largest shopping mall in Singapore. TheKampong Bahru Bus Terminal is located along Spooner Road, near the vicinity of theSingapore General Hospital.
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Bukit Merah belongs to six political divisions in four constituencies. A large portion of Bukit Merah is underTanjong Pagar GRC with some areas underJalan Besar GRC,Radin Mas SMC andWest Coast GRC, served by thePeople's Action Party. As of the2020 General election, the Members of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC areIndranee Rajah for Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division,Joan Pereira for Henderson-Dawson division andEric Chua for Queenstown division.Melvin Yong is the current Member of Parliament for Radin Mas SMC,Rachel Ong for Telok Blangah division of West Coast GRC andJosephine Teo for Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC. The planning area is overseen by three town councils, namely Tanjong Pagar Town Council (TPTC), West Coast Town Council (WCTC) and Jalan Besar Town Council (JBTC).
Bukit Merah is covered by twoCommunity Development Councils (CDC),Central Singapore District andSouth West District.Denise Phua is the current mayor for Central CDC andLow Yen Ling is the current mayor for South West CDC.
Authority control databases: National |
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