Site around former KTM railway identified for new Kranji water reclamation plant, NEWater factory

SINGAPORE: The site around the former KTM railway has been identified for the new Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and Kranji NEWater Factory.

The identified site includes a section of the former KTM railway alignment, a 10ha plot of vegetated land and a cemetery at the former Kampong Wak Selat.

The approximately 26ha site located to the north of the existing Kranji Water Reclamation Plant, will include a portion of land from the existing site for the new facilities, said national water agency PUB and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in a joint media release on Friday (Jul 28).

The site selection has factored in environmental considerations and Singapore’s long-term land use needs, PUB and URA said. 

The Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and Kranji NEWater Factory infrastructure "will support existing and upcoming residential and industrial developments in the north and north-western areas".

This includes Admiralty, Woodlands, Sungei Kadut Eco-District and Tengah New Town. 

Construction work is expected to commence in 2027, and the new Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and Kranji NEWater factory are expected to be operational by 2035.

PUB has also launched a tender seeking to appoint a consultant for professional engineering services for the planning and preliminary design of the future Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and Kranji NEWater Factory on the identified site.

NEW SITE IDENTIFIED

In identifying a suitable site, PUB and URA worked closely with other agencies at the upstream planning stage to factor in environmental and land use considerations.

With the development of the Sungei Kadut Eco-District and the upcoming redevelopment of the nearby Singapore Racecourse site - the Singapore Turf Club will close its facility by March 2027 - the current water reclamation plant site can be freed up for "higher intensity uses" such as new industrial workplaces.

The developments in the Kranji area complement other plans for the north region, including the redevelopment of Woodlands Checkpoint and master planning Lim Chu Kang into a high-tech agri-food cluster. 

The development of the future Kranji Water Reclamation Plant and Kranji NEWater Factory at the identified site was made possible with the realignment of the Rail Corridor to run alongside Woodlands Road to Kranji MRT station.

This was first presented when the Rail Corridor Concept Master Plan was being developed in 2015.

URA had also consulted public agencies and stakeholders early and widely during the process and had engaged them on the proposed realignment.

This was acknowledged by the Rail Corridor Partnership comprising nature and heritage interest group representatives and community stakeholders, PUB and URA said. 

"The realignment was subsequently presented at a public exhibition of the Rail Corridor’s Concept Master Plan in the same year, and displayed publicly at URA’s Draft Master Plan 2019 exhibition, before the plans were gazetted as part of Master Plan 2019," the authorities added.

In February 2023, the realigned stretch along Kranji MRT station was completed and opened for public use as part of the Rail Corridor (North).

REALIGNMENT OF RAIL CORRIDOR 

The realignment of the Rail Corridor facilitated plans to make the Kranji node a northern gateway into the Rail Corridor and it also "freed up a sizeable contiguous parcel of land" around the former KTM railway to be "optimally planned and redeveloped" to meet future needs.

PUB and URA said that agencies will strengthen the ecological connectivity of the realigned Rail Corridor with "enhanced planting and study measures such as landscaping strategies".

This will integrate the Rail Corridor with the green provisions and "landscapes of future developments" to make it functionally wider where possible.

The National Parks Board (NParks) is also studying ways to enhance the ecological connectivity along Sungei Pang Sua and along Sungei Mandai to the Mandai mangrove and mudflat.

ASSESSING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF REDEVELOPMENT

The consultant for professional engineering services that PUB is seeking to appoint will need to carry out a detailed assessment to assess the potential environmental impact of the redevelopment. 

It will also need to conduct a heritage study of the former KTM railway alignment and the former Kampong Wak Selat and cemetery at the site.

Both findings will "be considered, and mitigation measures to minimise the environment impact will be developed and implemented during the construction and operation of the project", said PUB and URA.

The authorities added that nature group representatives have been consulted early to help scope the environmental impact assessment to ensure a robust and comprehensive study.

Agencies had also gathered feedback from nature and heritage groups during briefings and site visits and the ecological connectivity of the area will continue to be enhanced as the project progresses, according to PUB and URA.

Additionally, agencies are also exploring options to commemorate the former KTM railway alignment, allowing the public to have a better appreciation of the historical significance of the site.

"In strengthening Singapore’s water resilience, we aim to strike a good balance between optimising land use and the need to protect the environment," said PUB and URA.