Woodlands Checkpoint expansion works to begin in 2025; first phase to be fully operational from 2032

EXPANSION works for the Woodlands Checkpoint will begin in 2025, with the first phase to be fully operational from 2032, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Monday (Jan 29).

Once the redevelopment works are completed, the new Woodlands Checkpoint will be approximately five times the size of the current facility.

Among other things, the expanded facility will reduce the average travel time for motor vehicles to 15 minutes during peak periods, from the current 60 minutes, said ICA.

In order to maintain the current operations at the checkpoint, as well as accounting for existing site conditions, ICA said it plans to redevelop the checkpoint in several phases over the next 10 to 15 years.

Under the first phase, the authority will build an extension at the Old Woodlands Town Centre, which will create a total of 21 bidirectional cargo lanes and 78 arrival car lanes.

This will raise the cargo clearance capacity by 30 per cent and arrival car clearance capacity by 95 per cent, said ICA.

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The 78 arrival car lanes can also be converted into 156 arrival motorcycle lanes to give ICA “operational flexibility to manage the traffic situation during peak periods”.

Meanwhile, the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) will be extended to create a direct route for vehicles exiting the Woodlands Checkpoint to reduce traffic congestion on Singapore roads during peak hours. The surrounding local road networks will also be upgraded to improve overall traffic flow, said ICA.

Construction works at the Old Woodlands Town Centre and the BKE extension are expected to be completed progressively from 2028. Thereafter, the old Woodlands Checkpoint will be demolished, redeveloped, and integrated with the Old Woodlands Town Centre redevelopment, which is expected to be fully operational from 2032.

As for the subsequent phases of the redevelopment, ICA said these will be subject to further design studies and will include building clearance facilities on both acquired and reclaimed land. It would also involve retrofitting the current Woodlands Checkpoint.

More details on the further redevelopment plans will be released after further studies are completed, said ICA.

Plans to extend Woodlands Checkpoint to the Old Woodlands Town centre were first announced in 2017. The Singapore Land Authority had said then that the upgrade was needed to meet growing traffic needs, while ensuring that immigration clearance remains secure.

Two plots of private land within the town centre – 268 and 270 Woodlands Centre Road – were acquired then as part of the extension. Each lot is 1,632 square metres and both are located east of the current checkpoint.

In May 2022, ICA acquired an additional nine Housing and Development Board blocks in Marsiling Crescent and Marsiling Lane as part of the massive redevelopment and expansion project. The affected units include 732 sold flats, 53 rental flats, one rental kiosk, six rental shops and one rental eating house.

ICA said in its statement on Monday that the daily traveller volume at Woodlands Checkpoint has returned to the pre-Covid level of about 300,000 travellers. The figure is usually even higher during long weekends and holiday periods.

By 2050, the number of travellers passing through the checkpoint is expected to reach 400,000 per day.

While the authorities have undertaken various efforts to increase clearance efficiency without compromising border security, “there is a limit to how much these initiatives can alleviate the congestion, given existing space and infrastructural constraints”, said ICA.

Without the redevelopment plans, the travel time for vehicular traffic could rise by more than between 60 and 70 per cent during peak periods by 2050, it added.

Through extensive feasibility and technical studies, the authorities have determined that the land needs for the redevelopment of Woodlands Checkpoint can only be met through land acquisition and land reclamation.

JTC has been appointed to carry out the reclamation works. An environmental impact assessment was conducted to assess the potential impact of the proposed works. Based on its findings, the authorities do not expect any major environmental concerns arising from the works.