The new town of Clementi is situated in the west of the island, between Jurong and Dover, and has an area of 4 km2. Approximately 50% of its surface is dominated by 24,000 HDB residential units where currently live about 88,000 inhabitants.
Part of the District 5, Clementi consists of nine sub-zones: Toh Tuck, Sunset Way, Faber, Clementi North, West Coast, Clementi Central, Clementi Woods, Clementi West and Pandan.
Historical background
The new town of Clementi was named after Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner from 1887 to 1893. The governor was worthy of this honor due to the fact that was a very bright Chinese scholar and a popular public figure in Singapore, who managed to rightfully apply the law. Sir Clementi Smith was so appreciated that, after he left Singapore in 1893, the Chinese community petitioned for his return as a governor.
Clementi New Town was developed between 1975 and 1979 and envisioned as a self-sufficient residential town that offers access to a wide selection of facilities and services.
One of the iconic landmarks of this town is the railway bridge that crosses Sungei Ulu Pandan, which was part of Jurong KTMB Railway Line, and was used for the transportation of manufactured products from Jurong to Malaysia, and raw materials from Malaysia to Jurong. The first train crossed this bridge in 1966. The bridge was closed in the early 1990s, but remained a point of interest in Clementi, especially for history aficionados and photographers.
Facilities/amenities
Most HDB flats and condos are to be found around the Commonwealth Avenue West and Clementi MRT Station. Due to their location, they offer easy access to the center of Clementi and the numerous facilities available in the district. Landed properties are abundant in the West of the town, while rooms for rent can be found all over the town.
Clementi is home to a variety of retail shops, hawker stalls and wet markets. It also houses the relatively newly inaugurated CityVibe, a 4-level shopping complex, which opened in 2009, right across the MRT Station. This mall was built on the former site of the Commonwealth Cinema. However, the Eng Wah’s Empress Entertainment Center Cineplex is currently under construction and will be reopened soon.
Clementi Town Center welcomes visitors with 97 shops and a wide range of merchandise, food and entertainment facilities. It also offers access to a swimming pool complex, a sport hall, a polyclinic, schools and a HDB Branch office.
West Coast Plaza is another shopping complex, situated a bit further away from the town center. This complex is very useful especially for residents who live in the condos and flats situated along West Coast Road. Besides stores, the complex houses also a variety of restaurants and small stalls that commercialize handicrafts.
On the route towards Pasir Panjang, visitors will discover many 24-hours eateries, great dining establishments for the students who live in this area, mostly in rooms for rent and together with flatmates, and attend the courses of the National University of Singapore.
District 5 is above all an educational district, which houses many important schools with tradition in Singapore, such a Clementi Primary School, Nan Hua Primary School, Clementi Town Secondary School, New Town Secondary School, the NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, and the School of Science and Technology, Singapore.
Clementi is popular among students, due to the fact that it houses the National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. This is why many apartments in the vicinity of these institutions have often offers for roommates and flatmates.
In 2011, the brand new Clementi Mall was opened to public, a structure that is part of a new development complex which will include a 5-storey retail podium with two basements, two 40-storey residential blocks, a public library and an air-conditioned bus interchange. The mall offers direct connection to the Clementi MRT Station, which can be reached on the 3rd level, and the Clementi Bus Interchange, situated at the 1st level.
Transportation
Clementi New Town provides access to Clementi MRT Station, situated on the East West MRT Line, and buses which await at the Clementi Bus Interchange and other different regions of the town.
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Photo credits: Singapore suburbs by alex.ch – used under CC BY