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Wikipedia / Bukit Merah

Bukit Merah, also known as Redhill, is a planning area and new town situated in the southernmost part of the Central Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tanglin to the north, Queenstown to the west, and the Downtown Core, Outram and Singapore River planning areas of the Central Area to the east. It also shares a maritime boundary with the Southern Islands planning area to the south. Bukit Merah is linked to Sentosa Island via Sentosa Gateway, Sentosa Broadwalk, Sentosa Express, and the Cable Car.

Bukit Merah planning area also includes two offshore islands which are linked to the mainland by road, namely Pulau Brani and Keppel Island. It is the most populous planning area in the Central Region and the 12th most populous in the country, with more than 150,000 residents.

Etymology

Bukit Merah translates to "red hill" in Malay, and is a reference to the red-coloured lateritic soil found on the hill. According to the Sejarah Melayu, Singapore was once plagued by swordfish attacking people living along the coast. A young boy named Hang Nadim proposed an ingenious solution to build a wall of banana stems along the coast at the present location of Tanjong 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 of Singapura, 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.

The hill was eventually trimmed to its current state in 1973, when it made way for Redhill Close and what would become the now-defunct Henderson Secondary School. During its existence, a Chinese cemetery was situated on the reverse side of this hill, which is today the location of Tiong Bahru.

History

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 the Straits Settlements Surveyor, John Thomson, in August 1848 to widen the entrance to a new harbour.

With the earliest records of Bukit Merah's existence in the Malay Annals, the town had a considerable role to play in the early maritime trade of the Kingdom of Singapura.

Mount Faber was once known as Telok Blangah Hill. Its name was changed to Mount Faber after Captain Edward Faber cut a road to the top in 1845 to establish a signal station. The Singapore General Hospital site dates back to 1882. Labrador Nature Park was used as a defence outpost in the 19th century until World War II.

The town's fertile red soil was put to great effect during British colonial rule, when it was a district rich in gambier cultivation.

Even before the industrialisation of Jurong, 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.

The town is also home to the first housing estate in the country, Tiong Bahru, which was developed by the Singapore Improvement Trust in the backdrop of a rapidly growing population in post-war Singapore. The estate later became the basis for the Republic's first new town, Queenstown.

Geography

According to the various master plans laid out by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Bukit Merah is bounded by Alexandra Canal and the Singapore River to the north and HarbourFront and Keppel Bay to the south, Kim Seng Road, Outram Road and Cantonment Road to the east and Alexandra Road to the west. There are 17 subzones within the planning area, including Alexandra, Bukit Ho Swee, Bukit Merah, City Terminals, Depot Road, Everton Park, HarbourFront, Henderson Hill, Redhill, Singapore General Hospital, Telok Blangah and Tiong Bahru.

Subzones

Transportation

Mass Rapid Transit

There are currently 9 MRT stations that serve the planning area across four lines, the East West Line, Circle Line, North East Line and the Thomson-East Coast Line.

Outram Park MRT station was the first station to open in the planning area in December 1987, followed by the opening of Tiong Bahru and Redhill stations a few months later in March 1988. Part of the East West Line, the stations were opened as part of the MRT line which ran from Yishun to Lakeside until the North South Line stations were operationally split from the East West Line with the opending of Marina Bay and the eastern EWL stations in November 1989 . Outram Park MRT station became a double-line interchange station with the opening of the NEL station in 2003 and subsequently became a triple-line interchange station after the commencement of the third stage of the Thomson–East Coast Line in November 2022.

HarbourFront MRT station opened in 2003 and is the southern terminus of the North East Line, replacing Tiong Bahru as the closest MRT station to the HarbourFront district and Sentosa The Circle Line segment of HarbourFront station opened in October 2011, which also served as the line's terminus until the opening of line's sixth stage in 2026. Stage 6 of the Circle line had officially begun operations in July 2026, which completed the line's loop with the opening of three stations, including two in Bukit Merah, Keppel and Cantonment.

The 9 stations that are currently operational are:

During the 2025 Committee of Supply debate, Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat announced that feasibility studies are underway for a proposed MRT line, tentatively named the Tengah line. If found feasible, the line, which will serve areas including Bukit Merah, could be built from the 2040s.

Bus

There are two bus interchanges and one bus terminal in the new town. The Bukit Merah Bus Interchange, which serves Bukit Merah, is located at Bukit Merah Town Centre. Service Number 132 links the Interchange to Redhill MRT station while bus services 5, 16, and 851 link the interchange to Tiong Bahru MRT station. Two feeder services originate from the interchange serving the Telok Blangah estate. The HarbourFront Bus Interchange is located in the southern part of Bukit Merah, serving nearby amenities such as the HarbourFront Centre and VivoCity, Singapore's largest shopping mall. The Kampong Bahru Bus Terminal is located along Spooner Road, near the vicinity of the Singapore General Hospital.

Education

Primary schools

  • Alexandra Primary School

  • Blangah Rise Primary School

  • Cantonment Primary School

  • CHIJ Kellock

  • Gan Eng Seng Primary School

  • Radin Mas Primary School

  • Zhangde Primary School

Secondary schools

Tertiary institutions

Other schools

Amenities

Places of worship

Buddhist temples

Chinese temples

Chinese clan temples

  • Lim See Tai Chong Soo Kiu Leong Tong Temple

  • San Jiang Gong Ci Temple

Chinese combined temples

  • Chia Leng Kong Heng Kang Tian Temple

  • Chin Leng Keng (Leng San Teng, Chin Lin Keng & Ban Sian Beo)

  • Temple of Liang Hong Sze Kong Hock Keng Heap Hoe Keng

Churches

Hindu temples

Mosques

Sikh temples

  • Gurdwara Sahib Silat Road

Shopping centres

Parks

Community centres/clubs

  • Bukit Merah Community Centre

  • Henderson Community Club

  • Kim Seng Community Centre

  • Leng Kee Community Centre

  • Radin Mas Community Club

  • Telok Blangah Community Club

  • Tiong Bahru Community Centre

Sports facilities

Tourist attractions

Politics

Bukit Merah falls within six political divisions across four constituencies. A large portion of Bukit Merah is under Tanjong Pagar GRC with some areas under Jalan Besar GRC, Radin Mas SMC and Queenstown SMC, all served by the People's Action Party.

As of the 2025 General election, the Members of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC are Foo Cexiang, Joan Pereira and Rachel Ong of Tanjong PagarTiong Bahru, HendersonDawson and Telok Blangah divisions respectively, Josephine Teo for Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC, and Eric Chua and Melvin Yong of Queenstown and Radin Mas SMCs respectively. The area of Telok Blangah was previously part of the West Coast GRC from 1997 to 2025 until it was redrawn to Tanjong Pagar GRC, returning Telok Blangah back to the constituency since 1991, along with some portions redrawn into Radin Mas SMC as well.

See also

References

Notes

Sources

  • Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press,

  • https://lostnfiledsg.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/bukit-merah-town-centre/

  • http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_779_2005-01-26.html