Future Toa Payoh mega sports and community complex needs 'clear strategy' to benefit public, say observers

SINGAPORE: A major upcoming sports and community project in Singapore's central Toa Payoh residential town will supplement the country's main Kallang Alive sporting precinct, according to sports administrators and urban planning experts.

But they stressed that authorities must find ways to ensure that the Toa Payoh Integrated Development (TPID) is well-utilised by the general public.

Earlier in January, Sport Singapore (SportSG) announced in a joint press statement that the development will include a 10,000-seater stadium, a 5,000-seater indoor hall with 22 badminton courts, and a 2,000-seater aquatic centre with 4 indoor pools and 3 “outdoor leisure pools”.

The 12ha project will also house the new Toa Payoh Polyclinic and a library among several other recreational and community facilities.

It is expected to be completed by 2030.

Olympian and former Singapore Aquatics president Mark Chay said Toa Payoh was a fitting location for the country's latest integrated development under a national sports facilities masterplan, after projects in Tampines, Punggol and other areas.

“Toa Payoh has always held a special place in our nation’s sporting history, having hosted the 1973 and 1993 SEA Games,” said Mr Chay, who's also a former Nominated Member of Parliament.

“These events cemented Toa Payoh’s reputation as a hub of national pride and athletic excellence.”

He added that the development was “a chance to honour this legacy while building a future where sports and community intersect seamlessly”. 

Mr Chow Kim Nam, who is Singapore Polytechnic’s (SP) deputy director for the school of architecture and the built environment, also pointed out that Singapore’s first athletes' village for the regional meet - in 1973, when it was still called