Tengah, Singapore

Tengah (IPA: /ˈtəŋɑː/ TUHNG-ah) is a planning area and new town located within the West Region of Singapore.^[3] It is bounded by Choa Chu Kang to the northeast, Jurong East and Jurong West to the south, Bukit Batok to the east, and the Western Water Catchment to its west and north. Formerly a military restricted area, Tengah is currently being redeveloped for new housing developments, making it Singapore's most recent Housing and Development Board (HDB) town since the development of Punggol in the late 1990s and early 2000s.^[4]

In 2016, HDB officially unveiled the plans for Tengah New Town with a master plan and blueprint for the town. This followed the demilitarisation of the former military training area, leading to the launch of the first estate, Plantation Grove, in November 2018.^[5] The town is designed to be divided into various residential districts, namely Plantation, Park, Garden, Market Place, Forest Hill, and Brickland.

Located in the western parts of Singapore, Tengah lies east of Jurong Innovation District and north of Jurong Lake District, two new industrial and business developments. These surrounding areas are planned as a new decentralised business district intended to support regional growth and employment beyond the Central Area.^[6]

In the mid-nineteenth century, the area where Tengah now lies was a chu kang (厝港, Peng'im: cu3 gang2), a Teochew word meaning "back port", which refers to gambier and pepper plantations located around a river. The plantation owners were known as kangchu (港主, Peng'im: gang2 zu2) - the word kang refers to the riverbank and chu means "owner" or "master", referring to the headman in charge of the plantations in the area. This is similar to how other chu kangs such as Choa Chu Kang and Yio Chu Kang got their names. In 1853, during the period of the Straits Settlements, a man named Teng-Ah Tong became the kangchu. He obtained the rights from local nobility to cultivate the land near the modern-day Kranji Reservoir. A specific section of the reservoir under his control was named the Teng-Ah River, and the area subsequently became known simply as Teng Ah and eventually Tengah. Contrary to popular belief, the name was not derived from the Malay word for middle, which is also spelled the same way, but was merely a coincidence.^[7][8]

In the 1980s, under the government's resettlement plan, the residents of Hong Kah Village and Kampong Ulu Jurong were relocated to nearby towns newly built by the government, particularly into the present Jurong Green, Jurong Spring, and Bukit Batok areas. Schools were shifted elsewhere, and one example is Xingnan Primary School, which used to operate at a temple along "Hong Kah Road" in the village. The HDB estates of Jurong Green and Jurong Spring are given the name "Hong Kah," probably meaning that most of the villagers resettled there. When the village was cleared, the PIE and KJE projects started in the area, leading to the creation of "Jurong West Avenue 2," which brought about the rise of both Jurong West New Town and Choa Chu Kang New Town. The western part became inaccessible to the public first in 1996 and was used by the military for training activities (which is west of Jurong Road Track 22), followed by the eastern part of Hong Kah (which is east of Jurong Road Track 22) in 2005.

In the past, there were several village roads that used to serve the area. Roads such as Hong Kah Road/Lane/Drive/Circle, Sing Nan Road, Kian Hong Road, Jalan Keladan, Jalan Beka, Jalan Pelawan, Jalan Jelawi, Jalan Sena, Lorong Putek, Jalan Buey, Jalan Mandar, and Jalan Ara. The last few roads, such as Jalan Lam Sam and Jalan Chichau, existed until January 2019. Jurong Road closed on 27 September 2020, and a reservoir will be built in its place in the future.

In late 2018, massive construction works for the HDB estates started in Tengah C1 and C2 planning areas, which are estimated to be completed by 2025. Most of the construction work will be headed by China Construction (South Pacific) Pte Ltd, whereas a few other local construction firms will also be in charge of construction work. The HDB flats in Tengah are constructed via precast components. The first flats in Tengah were completed in 2023, and Tengah first opened to the public in September 2023. The neighbourhood centre, Plantation Plaza, opened on 28 June 2024.^[9]

According to HDB, residential areas in Tengah will be divided into five districts, each with a unique character. The five districts are Plantation, Garden, Park, Forest Hill, and Brickland.^[10]

Tengah was also marketed as Singapore's first smart and sustainable town with a centralised cooling system, which is managed by national grid operator SP Group.^[11] The cooling system encountered issues with installation and operational issues.^[11]

It is also the only town in Singapore which has a car-free town centre.^[4] Various types of dense vegetation are planted along roads to serve as noise and visual barriers, providing a cleaner, greener living environment.

Eco-friendly features in Tengah include bioswales and bioretention basins (or rain gardens), which will collect and cleanse the rainwater before it is stored for reuse within the development or channelled into reservoirs. Such water features also create a conducive habitat for dragonflies and amphibians, which add to the biodiversity of the town and help promote a healthy ecological balance.

Tengah is a designated "car-lite" district, placing an emphasis on discouraging the use of private vehicles and prioritising public transportation, walking and cycling.^[12]

Upon the town's opening in 2023, public transportation options were initially limited to a free shuttle bus provided by the HDB. The first few public bus services 992 and 993 serving Tengah were introduced only in September that year.^[13]

The town features several bus priority features on its streets, such as having bus lanes on most roads. Designated transit priority corridors on Tengah Link, Tengah Park Avenue and Tengah Central only allow buses to use the road.^[14]

The town's first bus interchange, Tengah Bus Interchange, opened along Tengah Boulevard in July 2024. As of 2025, four bus services operate from the interchange. These services connect residents to Jurong East, Bukit Batok West, Bukit Gombak and Beauty World. A permanent bus interchange beside Tengah MRT station is planned as part of the town's integrated transport hub.^[15]

Tengah will be served by the Jurong Region Line upon the completion of Tengah and Hong Kah stations in 2027, and Tengah Plantation and Tengah Park stations in 2028.

All roads in Tengah will have walking and cycling paths on both sides.^[4]

Tengah Boulevard is connected to the eastbound direction of the Pan Island Expressway via slip roads, with a planned upgrading to a road interchange by 2028.^[16][17]

The future Forest Drive will be connected to the Kranji Expressway via a road interchange by 2027.^[18]

There are currently two shopping malls in the town in the form of new-generation neighbourhood centres, namely Plantation Plaza and Parc Point.^[19]

The bigger part of the former Hong Kah Village was an SAF military training area until 10 November 2015. The military training around the area was gradually shifted to Ama Keng Road, and training for Keat Hong Camp was now conducted at Ama Keng. Massive construction and earthworks subsequently began in October 2017.