Seletar is an area located in the north-east of Singapore. Its name can also refer to the Seletar Planning Area (as defined by the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...

), situated in the North-East Region of Singapore. The place name was derived from the Malay subgroup who were indigenous to the area, the ''Orang Seletar''. It shares boundaries with the planning areas of

Sengkang Sengkang (, ta, செங்காங்) is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the second most populous in the region, being home to 249,370 residents in 2020. Sengkang shares ...

to the south, Punggol to the east,

Yishun Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, ...

and Simpang to the west, as well as the

Straits of Johor The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the M ...

to the north. Formerly Royal Air Force Station Seletar

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

military airfield An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

site, the area now houses a new S$60 million Seletar Aerospace Park that spans 140 hectares. The

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

park houses industries specialising in aircraft maintenance and repair services. There are future plans to transform Seletar into one of the Singapore's regional centres, along with Jurong East, Tampines and Woodlands. Once the transformation is complete, Seletar will be known as the only regional centre without a single MRT line passing through it, unlike its other regional rivals who have multiple MRT lines. The recent introduction of newer residential property and retail malls, most notably Greenwich V and Seletar Mall, Parc Botannia at Fernvale, Luxus Hill, Belgravia Ace and Parc Greenwich has served well in rejuvenating the Seletar area, with further plans to increase BTO flats supply in the area serve to create additional housing options for people working in the Aerospace Park.

Geography

Geographical extent

According to the book ''Down the Seletar River: Discovering a Hidden Treasure of Singapore'', Seletar generally refers to a region defined by the Ponggol River to the east, the Seletar River to the west,

Ang Mo Kio Ang Mo Kio is a planning area and residential town situated in the North-East of Singapore. Located approximately north of the Downtown Core district, Ang Mo Kio is the 3rd most populated planning area in the North-East Region and ranks 8t ...

to the south and the

Straits of Johore The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the Ma ...

to the north. It includes the areas covering Yio Chu Kang, Jalan Kayu, Lower Seletar Reservoir and a part of Upper Thomson.

Seletar Planning Area

Seletar Planning Area, as defined by the

, shares a land boundary with planning areas of

to the south, riverine boundaries with Punggol to the east and

to the west. Its northern boundary is made up by the

. Seletar Planning Area is officially divided into 4 subzones – Seletar, Seletar Aerospace Park, Pulau Punggol Barat and Pulau Punggol Timor.

History

The area was home to the indigenous Malay population, especially the ''Orang Seletar'' (Malay for ''Seletar people'') - a subgroup of Malay sea gypsies living on the waters of the island. There were already hundreds of them even before the arrival of Raffles. Seletar was originally a rubber plantation estate owned and managed by the Singapore United Rubber Plantations Ltd. In 1923, the Straits Settlement government bought from the Singapore United Rubber Plantations Ltd and gave it to the British

as a site for its military air base in Singapore. Construction of the airfield was completed in 1929 and it was officially opened in 1930. The airfield was the first RAF base east of India and had also served as a civilian airport until 1937, when Kallang Airport was opened to the public. The Seletar Reservoir (now known as Upper Seletar Reservoir), was first built in 1920, after the First World War to cope with the water demand in Singapore. It was marked as a conservation site in August 1999. The area is also dotted with colonial bungalows that were built for the military personnel of the RAF, which still stands today. In 2007, the government announced that some 174 bungalows has been set aside for demolition to make way for the new Seletar Aerospace Park, while the remaining 204 bungalows will be retained and some of these units will be converted into aerospace training schools and food and beverage outlets, while 131 units will be set aside for residential use.

References

Sources