From top, left to right: Jurong West New Town, Jurong West Park, Jurong West Primary School, Jurong West Public Library, Jurong West Secondary School, Jurong West Town Centre.
Jurong West originated from the area once called Peng Kang,[6] named after the
gambier plantations along
Sungei Jurong.[7] By the mid-20th century, the area was home to several
brickworks,
palm oil plantations and
nurseries.[8] At that time, the only public housing estates in Jurong West were
Boon Lay and
Taman Jurong.[9] Jurong West was largely left alone until 1984, when the HDB began conceptualisation for a new town in Jurong West.[10] Jurong West was carved into nine subzones that would house a total of 94,000 public and private housing units in the long term.[11][3]
The town's first apartment blocks (known locally as flats) were completed at Taman Jurong in 1963.[12][13] By November 2004, about 71,522 dwelling units were completed.[14] As of 31 March 2018, there are 74,301 HDB dwelling units in Jurong West.[15]
As of 2018, Jurong West has a population of 266,720, most of whom are part of the working population.[2] The most populous subzone is
Yunnan with 68,840 residents, closely followed by
Jurong West Central with 65,720 residents.
Chin Bee, however, has just ten residents, while
Safti is completely unpopulated.[2] Packed into an area of 9.87 km2 (3.81 sq mi), of which just 4.8 km2 (1.9 sq mi) are designated as residential areas, Jurong West has a population density of 27,000 people per km2 (70,000 per mi2).[1]
City planners plan for
public transport to eventually become the preferred
mode of transport. The government of Singapore uses public transport to reduce pollution caused by heavy road traffic.[25] Jurong West is part of the
Urban Redevelopment Authority's focus for realising this
urban planning model. As Jurong West is relatively distant from the
city centre at the
Central Area, an efficient, high-volume and high-speed public transport system is also preferred to using
road networks, as the government is aiming to reduce the number of cars on the road.[26]
Jurong West Town is linked to the rest of Singapore through the
East West Line (EWL) at
Boon Lay MRT station, located at
the Town Centre. The EWL is a heavy rail mass rapid transit system, and connects to other systems in the MRT network. It is operated by
SMRT.
The Boon Lay MRT Station is located next to
Boon Lay Bus Interchange for commuters' ease of switching across different modes of public transport. The MRT station began operations on 6 July 1990,[27] as the western terminus of the East West Line, before additional stations were added further west of the line at Pioneer and Joo Koon on 28 February 2009.[28]
Lakeside (EW26), another station along the EWL in Jurong West Town, serves the housing developments in
Taman Jurong,
Hong Kah and
Boon Lay. The station began operations on 5 November 1988.
Pioneer (EW28) is the newest EWL station to open in Jurong West, on 28 February 2009.[29] The station improves accessibility to residential areas of
Nanyang and
Pioneer, as well as the industrial areas located south of the station.[30]
The inter-town Jurong Region Line (JRL) system is a 24 km mass rapid transit line that will connect residents to the town centre, as well as other areas such as
Tengah,
Choa Chu Kang and
Jurong East. The MRT line will have 24 stations and all will be elevated. The line will open from 2026 onwards.
There are four major
building complexes within the Jurong West Town Centre.
Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Jurong Point Shopping Centre is Singapore's largest suburban shopping centre.[34] The shopping centre started operations in December 1995[35] and expanded twice in 1999[36] and 2008.[37]
The Centris
The Centris is a private condominium that is located above Jurong Point Shopping Centre.[38]
Jurong West Community Building
The Jurong West Community Building is an integrated development comprising the
Jurong West Public Library, The Frontier Community Club and Jurong Medical Centre.[39] It is located behind Jurong Point Shopping Centre.
Jurong Fire Station, which opened on 17 November 2017, is the first
fire station in Singapore to have a slide.[44] The fire station covers 4,000 square metres,[45] and is used by the
Singapore Civil Defence Force.
Medical facilities
Pioneer Polyclinic is a government healthcare institution serving the local community in Jurong West.[46] The polyclinic was opened in January 2018.[47] Also located in Jurong West is the Jurong Medical Centre, which complements the acute and step-down care services of
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and
Jurong Community Hospital.[48]
Sports facilities
Jurong West Sports Centre,[49] formerly known as Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre,[50] is the largest sports centre in Singapore,[51] and offers one of the two sheltered pools managed by
Sport Singapore.
^National Library Board (20 June 2016).
"Boon Lay | Infopedia".
Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
^Housing and Development Board (4 October 2017).
"Jurong West | HDB InfoWEB".
Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.