Tengah Air Base undergoes expansion to free up land at Paya Lebar Air Base

TENGAH Air Base is being expanded to accomodate some of the assets and facilities from Paya Lebar Air Base, which has been earmarked for future development.

The expansion of Tengah Air Base will require the acquisition of four private land plots, the exhumation of graves and road re-alignment works. The relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base is expected to take place after 2030.

It will free up 800 hectares (ha) of prime land at Paya Lebar for residences, offices, factories and parks, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced at the 2013 National Day Rally.

Changi Air Base will also be expanded to accommodate some of the assets and facilities from Paya Lebar Air Base.

As Tengah Air Base is expanded, three fish farms and one nursery will be acquired by the government based on market value. These four plots cover 6.3ha in total.

Meanwhile, a total of 45,500 Chinese graves and 35,000 Muslim graves in Choa Chu Kang Cemetery will need to be exhumed in phases starting in the fourth quarter of 2018. Claims and registration for 45,000 Chinese and 5,000 Muslim graves will commence in September this year. The notices of exhumation for the remaining graves will be issued at a later date once the graves have met the 15-year minimum burial period.

Finally, the expansion will also affect Lim Chu Kang Road, including a section of the heritage road.

"Agencies are studying the exact impact on the road, and possible strategies, which includes transplanting the trees to the new road," the Ministry of National Development, National Environment Agency and Singapore Land Authority said in a joint release.