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Name : Howard
Tan
Contact : 84202087/ 84388985
howardtan-ccn.tripod.com
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Singapore District Guide
District 22 - Boon Lay, Lakeside, Jurong Located
to the West of Singapore, District 22 is mainly an industrial and residential area with landscaped parks. In this District
you can also find a golf course and Singapore’s only ice-skating rink. District 22 comprises of Boon Lay, Jurong and
Tuas. It is densely populated with many industrial buildings, contributing to Singapore’s booming economy.
Introduction/History
Boon
Lay
Between Jurong West and the new Jurong West Extension is Boon Lay, an area named after Mr Chew Boon
Lay, a famous landowner in the late 19th century and 20th century. The growth of Boon Lay village was attributed to his rubber
plantation. Before the 1960s, a portion of Boon Lay was a swampy jungle. Subsequently, it was turned into Singapore’s
first industrial estate with its first factory, the National Iron and Steel Mills.
Jurong
A
large part of Jurong is the Jurong Industrial Estate. Catering to the working population for the industries, Jurong contains
old but larger housing estates area in Boon Lay, Taman Jurong and Hong Kah. Plans are underway to develop a new commercial
hub in Jurong, the Jurong Lake District. Some 750,000 square metres of land have been allocated at Jurong Gateway for offices,
hotels, dining and entertainment.
Tuas
Here in Tuas, Singapore’s progress and
development is sustained by the heavy industries of this district. This district is fairly isolated, thus workers in Tuas
has to travel a distance to commute from home to work. Tuas is a Malay word referring to the method of using coconut fronds
and leaves to lure fish into nets that are submerged underwater. The fishermen who used this method were then later migrated
to HDB estates when Tuas began its transformation into an industrial area. You can find many international companies such
as Sony, Hitachi, Compact and Epson in the area. There are also national industries such as the Singapore Tin Industries and
Tuas Incineration Plant. The Tuas Biotechnology Park is one of the few designated industrial parks in the area. In 1998, the
Tuas 2nd link was opened as an alternative route between Singapore and Malaysia. The opening of the Tuas 2nd link helped to
ease the heavy traffic on the Causeway, Singapore’s first bridge to Malaysia.
Amenities/Facilities
Places
of interests in Boon Lay include Jurong Hill Park, which offers a 360 degree vista of Jurong from its spiral tower. Located
on the hilltop is Garden of Fame, a green version of the Walk of Fame where famous visitors such as Queen Elizabeth II, President
Suharto and President Benjamin Henry Sheares planted trees here. There is also the Jurong Bird Park, one of the largest bird
park in the world with 9,000 birds and 600 species.
Chocolate lovers can savor the flavors at the world’s largest
chocolate company, Barry Callebaut, located here in Boon Lay.
Escape to the flora and fauna of the Chinese and Japanese
Gardens as well as the Jurong Country Club of Jurong. Here, you can also find Singapore’s sole ice-skating rink in town.
Jurong is also renowned for its Science Centre, the golf course and IMM shopping mall, which hosts Giant Hypermart, Akira
stores and other shopping facilities.
In Tuas, there is the Raffles Country Club, the largest and most expensive club
in the district.
Transportation
The Lakeside MRT and Boon Lay MRT stations serve the
area while the Bus Interchange services caters 30 bus services to other parts of Singapore. There is also the Malaysian Inter-State
Express Buses located at the former Savoy Movie theatre that caters routes to Malaysia.
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