District 18 · Outside Central Region
Tampines · Pasir Ris · Simei
The east's regional capital... a self-contained town of malls, jobs and community, with new homes still rising.
Image: Our Tampines Hub · Leongyy02 · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
The History
From rural "ulu" to a regional centre.
Tampines takes its name from the tempinis tree and was, within living memory, rural "ulu" land of swamps, rubber plantations and sand quarries far from the city. That changed from 1978, when construction of the new town began; its first neighbourhoods were completed between 1983 and 1987, and Tampines grew rapidly into one of Singapore's largest HDB towns.
By the early 1990s it had been designated one of the island's four regional centres — part of the national plan to bring jobs, shopping and services closer to where people live, rather than concentrating them in the CBD. Pasir Ris, with its reclaimed coastline and park, and Simei developed alongside, giving the district the scale and self-sufficiency of a city of its own in the east.
What's Changing
A community hub, and a town still growing.
Tampines anchors its identity around Our Tampines Hub, Singapore's first and largest integrated community and lifestyle hub. Opened in stages in 2016 and 2017 on the site of the former Tampines Stadium, it gathers a regional library, sports facilities, a hawker centre, community clubs and more than thirty civic and lifestyle services under one roof, shaped by consultation with over fifteen thousand residents.
The district's growth continues at Tampines North, planned as a "green shoot" extension of the town with close to 17,000 new homes and large green spaces. With the East-West and Downtown Lines already serving the town and the Cross Island Line on the way, Tampines keeps consolidating its role as the thriving regional capital of Singapore's east.
Why Live Here
Four reasons District 18 works so well.
A self-contained regional centre
Tampines offers malls, offices, schools and services on a scale few heartland towns can match.
Community at its heart
Our Tampines Hub brings sport, library, dining and civic life together in one landmark complex.
Room to grow
Tampines North is adding thousands of new homes and green spaces to an already mature town.
Strong connectivity
The East-West and Downtown Lines serve the town today, with the Cross Island Line extending its reach.