Lorong Halus Bus Depot

A new multi-storey bus depot is set to be built in the Lorong Halus area, as revealed by proposed zoning amendments published in September 2023.

The new bus depot will be situated east of the Serangoon River and accessible via a future road (Serangoon River Road) connecting it to Tampines Road and Buangkok East Drive. The official name of the depot will be confirmed at a later date.

In December 2023, a tender was called by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), titled Contract BD201 – Proposed Multi-Storey bus depot at Lorong Halus. Construction of the depot is expected to be completed by 2029.

Location

The proposed Bus Depot at Lorong Halus will be built on secondary forest and scrubland east of Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon River). Much of this undeveloped land, which borders the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway to the east, and Buangkok East Dr / Tampines Rd to the north and south respectively, is zoned for business use as part of the future Lorong Halus Industrial Park.

In September 2023, under a gazetted Proposed Amendment to Master Plan 2019 (Amendment No. MPA20230114), the depot site was rezoned from Business 2 to Transport Facilities, paving the way for planning and construction of the bus depot. The site is roughly 6 ha in size and is located adjacent to Serangoon River Road.

As of November 2023, only a short spur of Serangoon River Road had been constructed, branching off Tampines Road. In future, Serangoon River Road will be extended north to link up with Buangkok East Drive.

Route Package Assignment

Under Singapore’s Bus Contracting Model (BCM) which was implemented in 2016, ownership of all bus assets falls under the Land Transport Authority (LTA), which includes the construction of new bus depots, and their subsequent tendering as part of a route package.

The new bus depot at Sungei Serangoon will be one of many bus depots commissioned by the LTA under the BCM, alongside Bulim, Loyang, Seletar, Ulu Pandan, Mandai, Sengkang West, Gali Batu, East Coast, Kim Chuan, Tengah, and Pasir Panjang.

Details on which Route Package the Lorong Halus Bus Depot will be allocated have yet to be announced by LTA.

Parliamentary Question

A Parliamentary Question was raised by Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong for the parliamentary sitting on 6 November 2023, concerning the bus depot:

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong: To ask the Minister for National Development in view of the proposed rezoning from ‘park’ to ‘road’ at Sungei Serangoon for the construction of a bus depot (a) whether any environmental impact assessment has been carried out or whether any studies have been undertaken on the environmental impact of the construction of the road and bus depot; (b) if so, whether such assessment or studies can be disclosed to the public; and (c) what measures have been or will be taken to mitigate any negative environmental impact.

to which the Ministry of National Development responded in a written answer:

As part of our planning process, environmental studies are required for developments which may potentially cause significant environmental impact.

As the bus depot at Sungei Serangoon will be constructed on a brownfield site comprising primarily young regrowth scrubland, the potential impact on sensitive habitats was assessed to be limited and an environmental study was therefore not required. To mitigate any environmental impact, LTA will put in place measures such as earth control measures and restricted working hours during the construction of the bus depot.

LTA Spokesperson Response

In a media response published on local chinese news site Lianhe Zaobao in December 2023, an LTA spokesperson revealed that the bus depot will be a 4-storey building and be able to accommodate up to 550 buses.

In addition, LTA added that the bus depot will replace an existing bus depot currently in operation. However, the spokesperson did not disclose which bus depot Sungei Seletar would replace, stating that LTA would announce more information at an appropriate time.

Construction

In December 2023, LTA called for a tender under Contract BD201 – Proposed Multi-Storey bus depot at Lorong Halus.

The depot is expected to be completed in 2029.

Article Name Change

This article was formerly titled Sungei Serangoon Bus Depot; name was changed to reflect the LTA tender name. Official name remains TBC.

References

• Parliament Order Paper No. 115 (Sitting on 6 Nov 2023) [Accessed 11 Nov 2023]
• Amendments To Master Plan 2019 – Urban Redevelopment Authority [Accessed 11 Nov 2023]
• Written answer by Ministry of National Development on environmental impact assessment for proposed rezoning of Sungei Serangoon to build bus depot – Ministry of National Development [Accessed 11 Nov 2023]
• North-East Region, where the familiar meets the future (ura.gov.sg) [Accessed 7 Dec 2023]
• 昔日垃圾填埋场址 新设实龙岗河路将建多层巴士车厂 – Zaobao [Accessed 13 Dec 2023]

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