Kim Seng
| Kim Seng | |
|---|---|
| Name transcription(s) | |
| • Chinese | 金声 |
| • Pinyin | Jīnshēng |
| • Hokkien POJ | Kim-seng |
| • Malay | Kim Seng |
Kim Seng Road
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| Country |
 Singapore
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Kim Seng Road (Chinese: 金声路) is a street in Singapore that runs along the upper-easternmost portion of the Bukit Merah-Central Area border. It was named after Peranakan philanthropist, Tan Kim Seng. Today, the boundaries of Kim Seng division are: Indus Road and Alexandra Canal in the north; Jalan Bukit Ho Swee in the south; Kim Seng Road and Outram Road in the east; and Lower Delta Road in the west.
It will be served by the future Thomson MRT Line by 2018.
The Kim Seng Bridge on Kim Seng Road, the most westerly of the 9 bridges crossing the Singapore River, carries Kim Seng Road from River Valley Road to Havelock Road. It also marks the supposed source of the Singapore River, and its upper reaches flows as the Alexandra Canal.
In 1857, Tan Kim Seng donated $13,000 to improve the town's water supply and the Commissioners erected a water fountain (now located at the Esplanade) in 1882, in appreciation of his contribution. A road and bridge also bear his name.
In the 1950s, Kim Seng and its neighbouring area, Bukit Ho Swee were a notorious crime-filled slum area with thousands of dilapidated huts. Squalid conditions affected the health and morale of residents. Two big fires in 1961 and 1968 made 9,000 people homeless and changed all that. The burnt-out, rundown shacks were replaced by modern flats and people were rehoused in what became Bukit Ho Swee and Kim Seng Housing Estates. The newly established Housing and Development Board ensured that the estate was self-sufficient, incorporating schools, business and social amenities in its design.
The boundaries of Kim Seng Constituency have shifted over the years, due to population and re-zoning changes. The Kim Seng area was made a constituency only in 1972. Prior to this, the area was part of the Delta constituency. In 1991, Kim Seng was incorporated into the Kampong Glam Group Representation Constituency, together with the former single wards of Kampong Glam, Cairnhill and Moulmein. The constituencies were therefore replaced by the Kreta Ayer-Tanglin GRC (Kim Seng), followed by merging of Kreta Ayer into the Jalan Besar GRC and lastly the Tanjong Pagar GRC. The road itself is now looked after by both Tanjong Pagar Town Council (Henderson-Dawson, the northern part of the road) and Jalan Besar Town Council (the rest of the road) (formerly City Centre Town Council and Tanjong Pagar Town Council).
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