HarbourFront
Encyclopedia
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, within the Bukit Merah
Bukit Merah
Bukit Merah is a hill in Singapore. Previously, it was a much larger hill that was situated at the present site of Henderson housing estate, which lies opposite the Delta Sports Complex. There was a Chinese cemetery on the reverse side of the hill. The present Bukit Merah Secondary School and...
Planning Area
Urban planning areas in Singapore
Singapore is currently divided into 55 urban planning areas by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, organised into five regions. A Development Guide Plan is then drawn up for each planning area, providing for detailed planning guidelines for every individual plot of land throughout the country.The...
. Harbourfront is also the gateway to Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
.
Main thoroughfares HarbourFront include Keppel Way and Telok Blangah Road. Notable buildings in the vicinity include HarbourFront Centre
HarbourFront Centre, Singapore
HarbourFront Centre is a shopping mall located at Maritime Square, Telok Blangah in the Bukit Merah Planning Area, Singapore. The mall is part of a development known as HarbourFront which is connected to VivoCity, the country's largest shopping mall. Formerly known as the World Trade Centre, it was...
, Singapore Cruise Centre
Singapore Cruise Centre
The Singapore Cruise Centre is a cruise terminal located in the south of Singapore in the vicinity of HarbourFront and in Keppel Harbour...
, St James Power Station
St James Power Station
St James Power Station is a music and nightlife venue in the HarbourFront area of the Bukit Merah Planning Area, Singapore, near VivoCity.-History:...
and VivoCity
VivoCity
VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore. Located in the HarbourFront precinct, it was designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Its name is derived from the word vivacity...
. HarbourFront is currently being redeveloped into a new business and lifestyle hub.
Etymology
Before recent developments, the area was known as Seah Im. After the Port of SingaporePort of Singapore
The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapore's harbours and which handle Singapore's shipping...
expanded, it became known as Maritime Square, and was also commonly known as the "World Trade Centre" area. The name HarbourFront was coined in 2000 to give a more upmarket feel to the area.
History
HarbourFront was once close to the southern-most point of the main island of Singapore, until land reclamationLand reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
in Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones....
and Tuas
Tuas
Tuas is largely an industrial zone located in the western part of Singapore. The Tuas Planning Area is located within the West Region, and is bounded by Tengeh Reservoir to the north, Strait of Johor to the west, Straits of Singapore to the south, and the Pan Island Expressway to the east.It is...
. Its location in the sheltered waters of Keppel Harbour
Keppel Harbour
Keppel Harbour is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa. Its naturally sheltered and deep waters was to meet the requirements of British colonists attempting to establish a Far East maritime colony in that part of the world, and...
helped the area to thrive as a commercial area adjacent to Keppel Shipyards, particularly with the building of the former World Trade Centre in 1978. Singapore's first major Exhibitions and Conventions venue, the World Trade Centre Exhibition Complex, was subsequently built beside the World Trade Centre, and also served as a transport node with ferries to Sentosa and other regional destinations such as Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
. The Singapore Cruise Centre
Singapore Cruise Centre
The Singapore Cruise Centre is a cruise terminal located in the south of Singapore in the vicinity of HarbourFront and in Keppel Harbour...
opened in 1991 in HarbourFront as the country's first international cruise terminal.
Massive redevelopment in the area after the closure of the shipyard subsequently led to the name HarbourFront being coined in the early 2000s to refer to the immediate vicinity of the World Trade Centre, which was in the midst of a major refurbishment project. Relaunched as HarbourFront Centre
HarbourFront Centre, Singapore
HarbourFront Centre is a shopping mall located at Maritime Square, Telok Blangah in the Bukit Merah Planning Area, Singapore. The mall is part of a development known as HarbourFront which is connected to VivoCity, the country's largest shopping mall. Formerly known as the World Trade Centre, it was...
, the former World Trade Centre also has its neighbouring Exhibition Complex demolished to make way for VivoCity
VivoCity
VivoCity is the largest shopping mall in Singapore. Located in the HarbourFront precinct, it was designed by the Japanese architect Toyo Ito. Its name is derived from the word vivacity...
, the upgrading of the Cable Car Towers and the construction of two new office blocks adjacent to it. Transportation into the area was vastly improved with the opening of the HarbourFront MRT Station
HarbourFront MRT Station
HarbourFront MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit interchange of the North East Line and the Circle Line in Singapore. It is located in the south of Singapore next to the HarbourFront Centre, previously known as the Singapore World Trade Centre. It serves as a terminal station of the...
and extension of the HarbourFront Bus Interchange
HarbourFront Bus Interchange
The HarbourFront Bus Interchange is located at Seah Im Road by the HarbourFront MRT Station. It was formerly known as the World Trade Centre Bus Terminal and is operated by SBS Transit though there are as many SMRT bus services as there are SBS Transit bus services.Two shopping malls are near...
.
Future plans
HarbourFront is the site of major construction and redevelopment. A new monorailMonorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
link to Sentosa, the Sentosa Express
Sentosa Express
Sentosa Express is a monorail line connecting Sentosa island to HarbourFront on the Singapore mainland across the waters.Built at a cost of S$140 million, development started in June 2003 and was completed in December 2006. The fully elevated 2.1-kilometre two-way line and three out of four...
has been completed and opened on 15 Jan 2007. The HarbourFront station of the Circle Line
Circle MRT Line
The Circle Line is Singapore's fourth Mass Rapid Transit line, operated by SMRT Corporation. This underground line is currently long with 28 stations and is fully automatically operated...
is also being constructed and would be ready by 2011.
A new six-storey office building is also in the works as a new addition to the HarbourFront Office Park. The new site is known as the HarbourFront Merrill Lynch, which is a six storey building and will be entirely occupied by American bank Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch
Merrill Lynch is the wealth management division of Bank of America. With over 15,000 financial advisors and $2.2 trillion in client assets it is the world's largest brokerage. Formerly known as Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., prior to 2009 the firm was publicly owned and traded on the New York...
with a total area of 200000 sq ft (18,580.6 m²). Another office development is being planned on the site of the current SPI Building. Furthermore, a residential development is possible in the future. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/244048/1/.html The Singapore Cruise Centre would be expanded to accommodate over 6 million passengers by 2010.