Sembawang

Sembawang
Planning Area and HDB Town
Other transcription(s)
• Chinese	三巴旺 胜宝旺
• Pinyin	Sān Bā Wàng Shèng Băo Wàng
• Malay	Sembawang
• Tamil	செம்பவாங்
From top left to right: HDB flats along Sungei Sembawang, Senoko Power Station, Sembawang Shipyard, MRT viaduct in Sembawang, Wak Hassan Beach
Sembawang Location of Sembawang within Singapore
Coordinates: 1°26′56.8″N 103°49′6.58″E / 1.449111°N 103.8184944°E / 1.449111; 103.8184944
Country	Singapore
Region	North Region
CDC	North West CDC
Town council	Sembawang Town Council
Constituency	Sembawang GRC
Government
• Mayor	North West CDC Teo Ho Pin
• Members of Parliament	Sembawang GRC Khaw Boon Wan Lim Wee Kiak Ong Ye Kung
Area
• Total	12.34 km2 (4.76 sq mi)
• Residential	3.31 km2 (1.28 sq mi)
Population (2015)
• Total	76,530
• Density	6,200/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Official Sembawang resident Colloquial Sembawanger Sembawangian Sembawangite
Dwelling units	20,311
Projected ultimate	65,000

External image

Sembawang Naval Pier

Sembawang Naval Pier, circa 1990s

North Region

North West CDC

Sembawang GRC

Official

Colloquial

Sembawang (Chinese: 三巴旺, Tamil: செம்பவாங்) is a planning area and residential town located at the northernmost tip of the North Region of Singapore. The relative location of Sembawang makes it Singapore's closest point to Peninsular Malaysia.

Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Johor to the north.

Despite the relatively large development in the Sembawang New Town, the area remains largely suburban, with military, industrial and recreational facilities at its periphery. It hosted a major naval base and port facilities since the early 20th century, and continues to handle regular shipping traffic today along its wharves.

The earliest reference to Sembawang is found in Franklin and Jackson's 1830 Map of Singapore, which refers to the River Tambuwang. The place is said to have got its name from the Sembawang tree, (Kayae ferruginea), which has been renamed Mesua ferruginea from 1980. This tree can be seen at Carpark C1, Sembawang Park.

The Sembawang area in the early twentieth century was the site of the Nee Soon Rubber estate. During the colonial times, Sembawang was home to a major British naval base, its construction of which began in 1928 and was completed in 1938. The base included dockyards, wharves and workshops, as well as supporting administrative, residential and commercial areas. The Naval Base has since been handed over to the Singapore government, which in 1968 converted it into a commercial dockyard (as Sembawang Shipyard, now part of Singapore Exchange-listed SembCorp Marine) that went on to become SembCorp, a major state-owned industrial conglomerate.