Paya Lebar is a planning area located in the East Region of

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 ...

, bordered by

Hougang Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

to the west,

Sengkang Sengkang (, ta, செங்காங்) is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the second most populous in the region, being home to 249,370 residents in 2020. Sengkang shares bo ...

to the northwest,

Tampines Tampines () is the regional centre of the East Region of Singapore. With a population of 265,340 living across its five subzones, it is the second-most populous planning area in Singapore, according to the DOS Population Trends 2022. It is ho ...

to the east,

Bedok Bedok () is a planning area and matured residential town located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah along the south-eastern coast of the East Region of Singapore. Bedok is bounded by five other planning areas: Paya Lebar to the north ...

to the south and

Pasir Ris Pasir Ris is a planning area and residential town located in the East Region of Singapore. It is bordered by Tampines and Paya Lebar to the south, Sengkang to the southwest and Changi to the east. The planning area also shares riverine boun ...

to the north. As part of the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Master Plan 2014, Paya Lebar Central was identified as one of the five growth areas. It was since earmarked as an up-and-coming commercial hub, in line with the wider decentralisation strategy to ensure the city's sustainable growth. Through its participation in the pilot Business Improvement District (BID) programme, stakeholders will be able to work together to form a collective vision that taps into the creativity and resources of everyone to strengthen the district. Despite its name, it is in fact located within the

Geylang Geylang is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore, bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is perha ...

planning area, along Paya Lebar Road. PSFix 20191103 232611

Etymology and history

Paya Lebar was formerly a swamp close to

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 ...

. In Malay, ''Paya'' means "swamp" and ''lebar'' means "wide". Due to the swamp, the area mainly consisted of

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

who reared pig and poultry and also grew market produce. In 1865, Richard Owen Norris bought part of the area and lived there with his family.

Paya Lebar Air Base

The Singapore International Airport was built in Paya Lebar from 1952 to 1955, and opened on 20 August that year by the

Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...

, Alan Lennox-Boyd. Singapore International Airport began to be gradually converted into a military air-force base from late 1967 onwards. It became a complete

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

airbase in 1981 when

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...

was opened and was subsequently renamed as Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) in the same year.

Politics

Paya Lebar covers

Aljunied GRC The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...

and

Tampines GRC The Tampines Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the eastern region of Singapore. The GRC encompasses Tampines with five divisions: Tampines East, Tampines West, Tampines Central, Tampin ...

which were warded by the Workers' Party and the

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...

, respectively. One notable Member of Parliament for the ward was the former Secretary-General of the Workers' Party,

Low Thia Khiang Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011 and Aljun ...

, where his ward covers a majority of Paya Lebar, including the

Paya Lebar Air Base The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of ''Strength Through Readiness''. It was ...

. Following his retirement, it was taken over by

Gerald Giam Gerald Giam Yean Song ( zh, s=严燕松, p=Yán Yànsōng; born 1977) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok Reservoir– Punggol division of ...

References

Places in Singapore East Region, Singapore {{Singapore-geo-stub

Etymology and history

Paya Lebar Air Base

Politics

See also

References