Study proposes keeping over 40% of forested site in Bukit Timah

A recent study has revealed an unexpectedly rich diversity of trees associated with Singapore’s untouched forests inside pockets of vegetation off the bustling Upper Bukit Timah Road.

- Ang Qing Correspondent

The discovery was made during an environmental impact assessment commissioned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), as the Government is planning to progressively develop housing over the next decade at the roughly 5.5ha site at the junction of Old Jurong and Upper Bukit Timah roads.

To lower the adverse impact on flora and fauna, the study published on Feb 3 proposed that a 2.4ha land parcel at the site be retained. This amounts to 44 per cent of the area.

The URA told The Straits Times on Feb 6 that the parcel, which is zoned as a reserve site in the latest version of the masterplan, “will be left as it is”, even as the authority continues to review future plans for it.

This means that the area’s use has yet to be determined.

The URA said the two plots of land at the site have been earmarked for residential use since its 2019 Master Plan, to meet strong housing demand and provide a wider variety of housing in more central locations.

The study found that developing the forested land amounting to the size of about eight football fields will sever one of two critical links that wildlife relies on to travel between Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the rest of the Bukit Batok Nature Corridor.

Fauna expected to suffer from the disruption include the critically endangered Sunda pangolin and the locally threatened Malayan colugo, which was found to use the site for feeding and resting, according to the 187-page report.