Guide For Singapore Property Buyers, Sellers And Businesses To Understand And Use The URA Master Plan

Singapore is amongst the most forward-looking countries according to a “Best Countries” ranking by US News & World Report. Moreover, the government has long prided itself, on its long-term planning and policy decisions. One of the areas that can stand testament to this policy of taking a long-term approach is land development.

The Concept Plan, which was last reviewed in 2011 – 2013, covers Singapore’s long-term strategic land use and transportation over the next 40 – 50 years. The land-use plan outlines the strategies to provide the physical capacity to meet the pace of economic development and sustain a high-quality living environment for a possible 6.5 – 6.9 million population by 2030, as projected by the National Population and Talent Division.

This was translated into more detailed plans in the Master Plan 2014 – which was used for implementation over the next 10 to 15 years. This includes specifying the permissible land use and densities. The Master Plan is reviewed every five years, with the last review done in 2019.

URA recently unveiled the Draft Master Plan 2025 featuring new neighbourhoods, parks, amenities, and integrated community hubs. The exhibition is open to the public at the URA Centre till 29 November 2025 and will also be displayed at various heartlands from 2 August to 9 November 2025.

Table of Contents

• Why Is The URA Master Plan Useful?
• 5 General Themes of the Master Plan
• Key Regional Highlights
• Navigating the URA Master Plan

Why Is The URA Master Plan Useful?

The Master Plan is the closest you get to having a crystal ball on Singapore’s property market. Understanding the government’s long-term policies and knowing which locations will be targeted for future development, gives investors valuable insights into where they can look for new opportunities.

For instance, under the draft Master Plan 2025, Bishan is slated to become a sub-regional centre with more office spaces added through mixed-use developments. These give existing businesses an opportunity to reshape and revitalise their business plans, while also boosting confidence for potential investors looking at commercial developments in the area.

Furthermore, homebuyers can also benefit from gaining knowledge by understanding the upcoming housing projects and amenities, as well as the key transport nodes that might be developed soon. Such amenities and ease of connectivity will make a development more attractive and thus, in demand and able to fetch a potentially higher price. Therefore, property investors will be better equipped to make investment decisions by understanding information that can already be found in the Master Plan.

Moreover, the Master Plan also indicates the revised plot ratio of each development. This piece of information gives residential homeowners and potential investors the ability to estimate the potential value of the development. If there’s a revision upwards, they may decide to unlock the potential value by carrying out an enbloc sale.

Read Also: Complete Guide To HDB Housing Grants In Singapore For Different Types Of Flats

5 General Themes of the Master Plan

#1 To Create A Liveable And Inclusive Communities

More smart and sustainable housing precincts will be developed that are also equipped with a wide range of amenities. There will be more housing developments like the Punggol Northshore with integrated urban greenery and roof gardens. More of such projects will be built in various locations such as in Tengah, Punggol, Queenstown and Kampong Bugis.

Furthermore, innovative strategies are also adopted to conserve our national heritage and to expand our parks and park connectors to give residents more opportunities to connect with nature. This is in line with the goal of transforming Singapore into a greener city with over 550ha of nature park network and 500km of park connectors island-wide by 2030.

Public spaces are also designed with the intention of connecting people and fostering stronger relationships within the community. To allow businesses and local communities to take an active and greater role in the shaping of these public spaces, a pilot Business Improvement District (BID) programme was introduced. The BID allows the private sector to operate independently to enhance the vibrancy and attractiveness of the precinct through various marketing campaigns. China Place, City Hall, Jurong Gateway, Kampong Glam, Marina Bay, Marina Centre, Paya Lebar, Raffles Place, Singapore River, and Tanjong Pagar are all part of the pilot BID program.

Smart and sustainable living housing – Punggol Northshore. Source: URA

#2 To Build Local Hubs And Global Gateways

Since the 1991 Concept Plan was formulated, the push for the decentralisation of commercial activities from the city’s central area took shape with the creation of regional hubs in Jurong and Paya Lebar. Further emphasis and development to push jobs to the four corners, where people live and play, can be seen through the development in the Northern Gateway, the Central Area, the Eastern Gateway and the Western Gateway.

The Northern gateway would consist of the Agri-Food Innovation Park at Sungei Kadut, the Punggol Digital District, and the Woodlands Regional Centre. The Central area will continue to serve as a hub for global business and finance. Furthermore, the city centre will be rejuvenated with more city living options and amenities. The Eastern gateway will capitalise on the expansion of the Changi Aviation Hub and be a host to the aviation industry. It will also support an innovative lifestyle business cluster from the future Changi East Urban district. Finally, the Western gateway, is anchored by the Jurong Lake district. It is the largest commercial node outside the CBD and will also serve as a high-tech manufacturing hub through the Jurong Innovation district.

To strengthen our position in the Future Economy, master developers will be given the flexibility to determine the desired combination of uses within certain special areas that are under the Enterprise district. This makes it easier to change how space is used quickly in response to changing market needs.

The four economic gateways. Source: URA

#3 To Rejuvenate Familiar Places

The local identity areas will be rejuvenated with new public spaces, upgraded streetscapes or a sensitive injection of new homes and amenities. One such example is Holland Village, where new residences, retail and lifestyle uses are designed to blend with the intimate laneways and courtyards to add to the charm of Holland Village.

Holland Village – Artist’s Impression © Far East Organization, MKPL Architects: source URA

 #4 To Create A Sustainable And Resilient City Of The Future

If you think it is hot in Singapore today, it’s projected to get even hotter by another 1.4°C to 4.6°C in the next century. With the threat of climate change, microclimatic modelling tools are now being used in the planning of new residential towns and estates to strengthen key wind corridors and optimise building layout and orientation for better natural ventilation.

Land is scarce in Singapore; therefore, many innovative strategies are used to optimise space for our growing needs. One is through the use of co-location of compatible recreational and community uses in the form of an integrated hub such as the Heartbeat@Bedok.

Next, is the use of underground space. A new underground Special Detailed and Control Plan (SDCP) was introduced to enable better planning of the underground spaces. Currently, the SDCP covers the Marina Bay, Jurong Innovation district and Punggol Digital District.

Artist impression of the upcoming East Coast Integrated depot, that will co-locate 1 bus and 3 MRT depots. Source: URA

#5 To Provide More Convenient And Sustainable Mobility 

To reach our goal of being a car-lite society by 2030, more jobs are planned outside of the central district and closer to where people live across the island. As such, more amenities and public infrastructure are being built. The current plan says that by 2040, residents will be able to walk to the nearest neighbourhood centre in 20 minutes and finish 9 out of 10 peak-time trips without using a car in 45 minutes.

In terms of infrastructure, three new MRT lines will be added to the existing network. They are the Jurong Regional Line (JRL), Cross Island Line (CRL) and completing the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL). With these new additions, 8 out of 10 households will be within a 10-minute walk of a train station.

Island-wide connectivity map. Source: URA

Read Also: Which Housing Estates Will Benefit The Most From The Cross Island Line (CRL)?

Key Regional Highlights

Central Area

• Expect new housing in Marina South, next to Bay South Gardens, along with other community facilities and precinct amenities to create a car-lite urban village
• Treasured historic districts such as Little India, Kampong Glam and Chinatown will be rejuvenated through “place-making” efforts in collaboration with local businesses to make the precincts more vibrant
• New retail concepts, as well as attractions and events will be introduced along Orchard road to revitalise the shopping district into a lifestyle destination
• With the new Thomson-East Coast line and Circle Line stations in the central area, connectivity will be greatly enhanced.

Central Region

Bishan and Toa Payoh

• The Bishan Sub-Regional Centre will be transformed into an employment node that will be integrated with community facilities as well as pedestrian-friendly streets to serve both the residents and workers.
• There are also plans for a new polyclinic and a potential hawker centre that could be integrated with an upgraded bus interchange.
• A few of the community clubs as such, Bishan Community Club, Thomson Community Club, Bishan North Community Club will undergo upgrading works with some added facilities.
• Residents can expect better connectivity from Bishan, Toa Payoh and other towns along the Kallang river through enhanced walking and cycling routes
• Toa Payoh Town Centre will be rejuvenated to include a vibrant sports and community hub.

Mount Pleasant

• The Old Police Academy (OPA) site will be home to the upcoming 5,000 new public housing. It will be served by the nearby Mount Pleasant MRT station and will include new amenities like a neighbourhood centre and a park.

Bukit Merah

• New residential options will be introduced at the foothills of Pearl’s Hill to breathe a new lease of life in the area. It will also have a mixed-use integrated development on top of Outram Park MRT station providing convenient accessibility to public transport nodes.

Marina South

• Envisioned as a new model for city living, a new housing development is planned at Marina South. The new, mixed-use residential neighbourhood will be set in a 45ha, consisting of more than 10,000 new homes.
• It is also planned as a“10-minute neighbourhood” where residents will be surrounded by a spread of amenities including getting their daily needs within a 10-miniute walk.
• Residents can also look forward to an extensive network of public spaces from neighbourhood living rooms to community activities for greater opportunities for residents to mingle and lead an active lifestyle.

Bukit Timah

• A new housing estate consisting of 15,000 to 20,000 public and private housing will be developed at Turf City over the next 20 to 30 years as unveiled by MND in 2024.
• The new Turf City estate will be car-lite, pedestrian—friendly and well-served by public transport.
• Residents can look forward to recreational spaces and sports facilities as well as have convenient access to public transport nodes within 800m or 10-minute walk. They will be served by the Sixth Avenue Station on the Downtown Line and another the upcoming Cross Island Line MRT station, which is slated to open in 2032.
• In addition to the new neighbourhood being anchored by a grandstand and new oval open spaces, it will be defined by undulating terrain and surrounding forests.

Novena and Tanglin

• A new unique mixed-use urban village consisting of 5,000 new homes, integrated with lush greenery, heritage and identity will be developed next to the Newton MRT interchange.
• Aside from the convenient public transport nodes nearby, residents can also look forward to more parks and amenities including new mixed-use developments.

Eastern Region

Bedok – Bayshore

• The first of many new slated housing projects in 60-hectare Bayshore was launched in 2024.
• The new neighbourhood, sited is next to East Coast Park, will feature an integrated transport hub, a central park, a school and a transit priority corridor that will be connected by a community loop.
• Additionally, residents can look forward to a wide range of facilities, such as a swimming pool, futsal court, gym, and multi-purpose hall as well as the new Bayshore SAFRA clubhouse.
• The estate will be connected to the Bedok South MRT station as well as a bus interchange providing convenient accessibility to public transport nodes for the residents.

Changi

• A 1,080-hectare plot of land east of the present Changi Airport will be the site of Changi Airport’s next major development – Changi East. It will include the Changi Airport’s terminal 5, Changi East industrial zone, Changi East urban district and other aviation support and ground transport infrastructure
• The cross-island line will add to the accessibility by shortening travelling time between Changi and the rest of the island

Pasir Ris

• The rejuvenation of Pasir Ris hit a milestone with the opening of the Pasir Ris Integrated Transport Hub (ITH). The developments comprise a mall and residences providing residents with new amenities including a polyclinic, childcare facilities, a town plaza, and a bus interchange all connected to the Pasir Ris East-West Line (EWL) and upcoming Cross Island Line (CRL) MRT interchange.
• There are more plans for mixed-use developments at the town centre including a new community hub, which will be accessible through a well-connected network of cycling and walking paths centred around the Central Greenway.

Tampines

• The two new housing developments in Tampines – Tampines North and Tampines South – are progressively being developed since the launch of their first housing developments in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
• Aside from the recently completed Tampines Boulevard Park, residents at Tampines North can look forward to more amenities with the development of an integrated transport hub that will be connected to the upcoming Tampines North MRT station.

Sungei Loyang

• There are plans for a new neighbourhood near Sungei Loyang, which will include new homes, commercial and community facilities as well as a linear park along Sungei Loyang that will be integrated with the surrounding natural landscape.

North-East Region

Paya Lebar

• The Paya Lebar Air Base will be relocated from the 2030s onwards to make way for a new mixed-use neighbourhood estate.

Punggol

• Punggol is home to an integrated development – Punggol Town Hub, featuring a hawker centre, community club and library.
• It also features the Punggol Regional Sports Centre houses a swimming complex and a range of other sports facilities to serve the residents’ growing sporting needs.
• As part of the vision for the Punggol digital district, the new Singapore Institute of Technology campus is also housed in the estate to enhance the digital learning environment. 

Northern Region

Woodlands

• The Woodlands North Coast will be home to another two unique housing precincts: Housing by the Woods and Woodlands Waterfront, which will have convenient access to various amenities and employment opportunities.
• Residents at Housing by the Woods will have convenient access to Admiralty Park and the Woodlands North Coast Integrated Development.
• Furthermore, the much-anticipated Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link will connect Malaysia to the rest of Singapore via the Woodlands North MRT Station.

Kranji

• The former Singapore Racecourse is slated to be new housing estate within the Kranji estate. New homes will be nestled in the lush riverine of the Kranji Nature Corridor with convenient access to the Rail Corridor and Round Island Route (RIR).
• The estate will also be flanked by the upcoming Mandai Mangrove, Mudflat Nature Park and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve as well as a hub for equestrian sports and community horse riding and a Neighbourhood Centre.
• Residents can also look forward to new leisure and sports offerings.

Western Region

Yew Tee

• A new integrated development, the Heart of Yew Tee is slated for completion in 2027. It will offer a wide range of amenities including a new hawker centre, a community club, a polyclinic, and a community plaza as well as housing options.

Bukit Batok/Bukit Gomak

• Residents can look forward to more housing options in Bukit Batok.
• Furthermore, the new Central Manpower Base (CMPB) will be built at Bukit Gomak, which will consist of a number of public amenities and facilities such as a football field, fitness station, outdoor running trail, food court and childcare centre.
• Residents can look forward to more safer and comfortable walking journeys under the Friendly Streets Initiative by LTA.

Clementi

• More housing developments will be offered around the upcoming Cross Island Line stations at Clementi and West Coast.
• Additionally, the Clementi Stadium and the former West Coast Recreation Centre will be redeveloped into a new stadium that will feature softball and baseball fields, a running track, and various other community sport facilities. The development is expected to be completed by 2030.

Jurong East

• Residents can hope to enjoy more seamless transfers between different transport modes and easy access to a good mix of community uses with the development of the future integrated transport hub at Jurong gateway.
• Under a pilot business improvement district (BID) initiative, more vibrancy and buzz are expected around Jurong gateway, Westgate, Jcube, IMM and Westgrate tower, as they band together to curate an exciting calendar of community activities.
• Five new JRL stations are expected to be built in the town to provide residents with faster and easier access to the wider West region
• The Jurong lake gardens is being rejuvenated as a people’s garden with a nature-themed and water play areas.
• The Jurong canal will be transformed into a landscaped leisure corridor whilst the Jurong canal drive will form seamless connectivity between Jurong West, Jurong Lake district and Tengah town.

Jurong West

• When the first phase of the Jurong Innovation district is completed in Bulim estate, it will become a one-stop advanced manufacturing campus.
• 24 new JRL stations will be completed by 2030 in the town providing residents with greater accessibility to other parts of the West region for employment, leisure and retail needs.

Tengah

• This will be Singapore’s new housing town and will be a model for smart and sustainable living
• Tengah will provide more than 42,000 new homes spread across five districts
• The town will have dedicated pedestrian and cycling paths along both sides of all new roads, making it safer and easier to walk and cycle around the town
• There will be a new neighbourhood centre and community club at the Tengah’s Plantation district and amenities for community farmways
• The town will also have a 20-hectare central park serving as the green lung of the town. In addition, an area spanning 100m and 5km long, forest corridor will be enhanced with native rainforest species to serve as a habitat for natural fauna.
• The town will also have four new JRL MRT stations that will provide residents with greater accessibility and connectivity to the West Region.
• Residents can also look forward to the Tengah General and Community Hospital, which will be constructed to serve the growing population in the West region.
• There are also plans to further enhance rail connectivity through a new Tengah Line that will serve areas such as Tengah, Bukit Batok, Queensway and Bukit Merah.

Navigating the URA Master Plan 2019

We will show how to navigate the URA Master Plan by going through a case study. For our case study example, we shall be looking at the new Sengkang Grand Residences – an integrated development near Buangkok MRT Station.

Sengkang Grand Residences

Project Details

Street Name: 70 Compassvale Bow
District Zone: D19 / Sengkang

Developer: Siena Residential Development Pte Ltd and Siena Trustee Pte Ltd
Number of Units: 680 Units

Expected Completion: 2023
Tenure: 99 Years
Land Cost: $923.60 PSF PPR
Average Launch Price: $1,744 PSF

Next, let’s take a look at the surroundings of the new project from OneMap. We first note that there are three condominiums nearby the Sengkang Grand Residences that we can make comparisons with. Next, we realise the surrounding area is mostly HDBs with the nearest shopping mall being Hougang Green shopping mall. Lastly, we have a big uncertainty marked by the yellow box at Buangkok Drive. So let’s use the Master Plan search tool to find out more.

Source: onemap.sg

Step 1: Head to the URA website to access the Master Plan. You should see the following.

Step 2: Type the address of the location that your searching in the search box

Step 3:  Once you have keyed in the location, the location would be highlighted as seen by the blue box in the diagram below

However, at this page you might wonder what this colourful map represents. For that, we need to understand the legend – what the colours represent. To get the legend, follow the steps below.

First click on the three dots, on the search box. From the drop-down menu, click on the legend icon.

From here, you will get a full list of the legend, and you will be able to refer to this anytime you need to understand what the colours represent.

Step 4: When we overlay the master plan, we will get the following information.

From the above, we understand the following:

1. Sengkang Grand Residence is under Commercial & Residential site.
2. All the orange zones that we see are purely residential.
3. There’s an educational institution right behind the Sengkang Grand Residence, which is identified as Palm View Primary school from the OneMap.
4. We also note there is a place of worship (Masjid Al Mawaddah) and two civic & community institutions (St Andrew’s Adult home & Singapore Boys’ hostel) next to the educational institution.
5. Previously, in the OneMap, there was no development next to the Singapore Boys’ hostel. However, from the master plan, we can gather there will be utility-related developments.
6. We also see the Health & Medical care site at the left corner of the diagram, representing the Buangkok Green Medical Park.
7. Next, we move to the top left corner of the diagram. We see the plot of land marked by three different colours. The grey represents the transport facilities, which is a train depot under the management of SBS Transit.
8. The yellow zone demarcation represents reserve land. Which means there are no particular plans for the development of the land as of now.
9. The surrounding area that has been demarcated by the lavender colour, represents Business 1. This means the land can be used for a host of different types of light businesses and that it should not impose nuisance buffer greater than 50m on the surrounding site.

We have gained greater insights into the potential surrounding area of the Sengkang Grand residences from the Master plan that we would not have had just by looking at the street view maps.

The other benefit of looking at the master plan is that we are able to see the plot density of each residential development. Knowing the plot density gives us a visual idea of how densely populated the location is or will be. The other benefit of knowing the plot density is to unlock potential value for redevelopment if the current development is underdeveloped compared to the allowed plot density.

Step 5: You can also you use the master plan to do more research such as checking the prices of the nearby private properties around the target location (which in our case is Sengkang Grand residences) and also the demographics of the residents in the location.

Private Residential Properties Search

Click on the private residential properties tab – and you will see the icons displayed on the map of the private properties

If we click on the icon, we would see the transaction details of the development. As an example, we take a look at the Esparina residences. We can gather the latest psf amount and the rental psf amount of the project. We can also see the price trend and property transactions over a period of three years. Such information is conveniently provided enabling us to carry out our research.

We have tabulated the price information for the three projects for your easy reference. The information below gives us a price reference to the selling price of Sengkang Grand residences compared to other private residential projects nearby. It also gives us an objective understanding of the rental pricing in the area.

Project	Latest Sale Psf	Latest Rental Psf
ESPARINA RESIDENCES	$1,054	$2.78
JEWEL @ BUANGKOK	$1,294	$3.13
THE QUARTZ	$1,036	$2.61

Demographic search

Click on the demographics tab and select the location on the map.

You will get the following information. Based on the highlighted zone, we note the location is predominately occupied by a younger demographic, with a large adult base at 30 – 44 years old and children under ages of 9 years old.

This is a good sign for our intended property as a young demographics would mean frequent patronage of the mall’s amenities and thus, making the project more recognisable and desirable.

(Bonus) Step 6: If you are searching on a brand-new development, you can check whether the site was tendered from a government land sales programme and find out the corresponding information regarding the land price, tenure and bidder.

From the drop-down menu, click on the government land sales (GLS) tab.

You will then get the following information if the site was sold under a GLS. Moreover, the nearby GLS sites will also be highlighted.

And that’s how you can use the URA master plan search tool to help you with your research into any property that you are looking to either buy or sell.

Read Also: Which Are The Most And Least Dense Housing Estates In Singapore?