Kallang Basin (; ms, Lembangan Kallang) is an enclosed bay in

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The

Kallang River The Kallang River (, ms, Sungei Kallang) is the longest river in Singapore, flowing for 10 kilometers. from the Lower Peirce Reservoir (originally named "Kallang River Reservoir") to the Kallang Basin. It originates in the planning ...

Rochor River The Rochor River ( zh, s=梧槽河; ms, Sungei Rochor) is a canalised river in Kallang of the Central Region in Singapore. The river is about 0.8 km in length. The Rochor River is a continuation of the Rochor Canal, and begins beneath ...

and

Geylang River Geylang River ( ms, Sungai Geylang; Simplified Chinese: 芽茏河) is a canalised river flowing from Geylang to Kallang, in the Central Region of Singapore. With the formation of the Marina Reservoir after the completion of the Marina Barrage in 2 ...

empty into the Kallang Basin. The

Marina Channel Marina Channel is a waterway in southern Singapore that connects the Kallang Basin in the north and Marina Bay in the west to the Singapore Straits in the south. Formed as a result of land reclamation in the 1980s, the Marina Channel effective ...

connects the Kallang Basin with the

Singapore Straits The Singapore Strait is a , strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime ...

. At present, the Kallang Basin forms part of the

Marina Reservoir The Marina Reservoir is a reservoir in Singapore formed in 2008 by building a dam across the mouth of the Marina Channel. With the completion of the Marina Barrage on 30 October 2008, the reservoir, which contained mainly salt water, became freshw ...

, so do the rivers that flow into the Kallang Basin and their tributaries. The reservoir has a catchment size of nearly one-sixth of mainland Singapore's land area. The Kallang Basin is a popular location for water sports, in particular, kayaking and dragon boating. Today, the area surrounding the body of water is also frequently called "Kallang Basin". The term has been applied to the industrial estates along

Kallang Bahru Kallang Bahru is a subzone within the planning area of Kallang, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). This subzone is bounded by Bendemeer Road and Sungei Whampoa in the north; the Kallang River in the east; Kallang R ...

, the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex, amongst others.

Landmarks

Modern landmarks

Singapore Sports Hub The Singapore Sports Hub (Chinese: 新加坡体育城; Malay: Hab Sukan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் விளையாட்டு மையம்) is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore. The Sports H ...

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

Kallang Wave Mall Kallang Wave Mall () is a shopping mall in Kallang, Singapore. Background Opened on 27 June 2014, Kallang Wave Mall is part of the Singapore Sports Hub and is integrated into the National Stadium. The mall is named as a reference to the Kallang ...

Kallang Theatre Kallang Theatre is a 1,744-seat theatre in Kallang, Singapore. Located at 1A Stadium Walk, Singapore 397689 within the Singapore Sports Hub, beside Leisure Park Kallang and Stadium MRT station, Kallang Theatre is managed by Sport Singapore. Origina ...

Leisure Park Kallang Leisure Park Kallang (or Kallang Leisure Park) is an entertainment centre and shopping mall in Kallang, Singapore. It is served by Stadium MRT station and is within the vicinity of the affluent community of Tanjong Rhu. It is sited next to the ...

Kallang Riverside Park Kallang Riverside Park () is a riverine park in Kallang, Singapore. It sits on the confluence of the Kallang River and Rochor River, north of the Kallang Basin. Elaboration The 7-hectare park is a popular water sports site in Singapore. A st ...

*Conserved complex of the former

Kallang Airport Kallang Airport (also known as the Kallang Aerodrome, Kallang Airfield and RAF Kallang) was the first purpose-built civil international airport in Singapore, opened officially on 12 June 1937 and ceased operations in 1955, when it was reloca ...

*Tanjong Rhu Lookout Tower *Tanjong Rhu Suspension Bridge *

Golden Mile Complex Golden Mile Complex () is a high-rise commercial and residential building on Beach Road in Kallang, Singapore, within walking distance to Nicoll Highway MRT station. The building was formerly known as Woh Hup Complex. The complex contains 411 ...

* Merdeka Bridge *

Nicoll Highway MRT station Nicoll Highway MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle Line (CCL) in Singapore. Located in the Downtown Core underneath Republic Avenue near the Kallang River, the station serves commercial and residential ...

Stadium MRT station Stadium MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle Line (CCL). Located in the area of Kallang, Central Region, Singapore, the station serves the Singapore Sports Hub and its facilities including the Nationa ...

Former landmarks

* Old National Stadium *

Kallang Gasworks Kallang Gasworks ( Pinyin: Jiā lěng méi qì chǎng) was the first site dedicated to gas manufacturing from coal in Singapore. It operated from 1862 to 23 March 1998. In 1862, it was constructed by the Singapore Gas Company and occupied an area ...

Kallang Park Kallang Park (, ms, Taman Kallang) was a large public park located in Kallang, Singapore. It existed from 1959 to early 1970s on the site currently occupied by the Singapore Sports Hub. Name Kallang Park was so named because it was built on the ...

*Former headquarters of the Police Coast Guard and Marine Division

Condominiums

*Costa Rhu *Tanjong Ria *Casuarina Cove *Camelot By-The-Water *Pebble Bay *Parkshore *Water Place *Sanctuary Green

History

Landscape

Much of the lands around Kallang Basin are the result of extensive land reclamation. Areas of the modern-day

, the former

, the condominium clusters along Tanjong Rhu Road, the industrial estate at

, and the area south of

Nicoll Highway Nicoll Highway (; ms, Lebuhraya Nicoll; ta, நிகோல் நெடுஞ்சாலை) is a major arterial road in Singapore which links the junctions of Guillemard Road, Sims Way and Mountbatten Road in Kallang to the junctions of Espl ...

were once part of a much larger Kallang Basin prior to land reclamation. Numerous islands also existed in the Kallang Basin, including Pulau Mengalu which was located at where modern-day

Bendemeer MRT station Bendemeer MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown Line in Kallang, Singapore. Despite its name, the station is not located under Bendemeer Road, but under Kallang Bahru. This station serves the commercial ...

is. At its greatest extent, the Kallang Basin once extended as far north as today's Bendemeer Road. From the late 1960s to early 1970s, the part of Kallang Basin to the north of

Kallang Road Kallang Road () is a major arterial road in Kallang, Singapore. It links Sims Avenue and Geylang Road at Sir Arthur's Bridge in the east to Victoria Street at Victoria Bridge in the west. Landmarks along Kallang Road include the Kallang Riversid ...

underwent land reclamation. The

and its tributaries were also canalised to prevent flooding. The Kallang Basin area once formed part of mainland Singapore's southeastern coastline. Its access to the

was only cut off when the

Marina Barrage Marina Barrage is a dam in southern Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers, across the Marina Channel between Marina East and Marina South. First conceptualised in 1987 by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to help achieve greater self-s ...

was completed over the

in 2008.

Clean-up

In 1977, a massive ten-year-long clean-up project was embarked by the Singapore Government at the Kallang Basin and the nearby

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, altho ...

, transforming them into the clean bodies of water today.

Raffles' landing

While the

Raffles' Landing Site Raffles's Landing Site is the location where tradition holds that Sir Stamford Raffles landed in on 28 January 1819. The site is located at Boat Quay within the Civic District, in the Downtown Core of the Central Area, Singapore's central busi ...

on the northern bank of the

is generally thought to be the original landing spot of

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...

in 1819, other sources point to the Kallang Basin area as the likely location. According to the Cho Clan Archives, Raffles ordered his ship's carpenter, Chow Ah Chi, to lead the way in posting the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

flag on mainland Singapore and he supposedly landed at the mouth of the

. Raffles, following the route taken by Chow, also arrived at the Kallang Basin in what is today's

. This was possible because the Kallang Basin was directly connected to the open sea at the time of Raffles' founding of modern

References

{{Places in Singapore Kallang Basins Geography of Singapore