Kallang

Kallang is an urban planning area and a subdivision located in the southeastern part of Singapore. It is probably best known for being the location of the Singapore Indoor Stadium & the old National Stadium, as well as the new Singapore Sports Hub. It is also where Singapore's first airport, Kallang Airport is located.

Within the vicinity of Kallang MRT Station, there are no shopping malls.

There is a shopping mall, the Leisure Park Kallang, located near to Stadium MRT Station.

It was also the home to the former Kallang Gasworks, which was located along Kallang Road.

The Kallang River which meanders through the area is famous for its water sports. The source of the river is the Lower Pierce Reservoir, and at more than 10 kilometres, it is the longest river in Singapore.

Kallang is not an HDB town on its own. It merges with the estate of Whampoa to form the town of Kallang/ Whampoa. The Kallang Planning Area, however, includes other estates such as Farrer Park and part of Kampong Glam.

Etymology
Kallang is an old Malay reference to the orang laut (people of the sea), called orang biduanda kallang, who lived in the vicinity of the Kallang River and Singapore River. At the time of Raffles' landing in Singapore in 1819, there were about 500 orang biduanda kallang. In 1824, the Temenggung moved the orang kallang to the Pulai River in Johor. They consisted of about 100 families, but in 1847 most of them died of a smallpox epidemic. By 1848, the orang kallang were virtually extinct.

There are other possible meanings for this particular place name. Kallang may also be a corruption of the Malay word kilang, meaning "mill" or factory". There were saw mills and rice mills here. Another explanation for the origin of Kallang is that it is derived from galang, which means "to put a boat on wooden stocks or rollers", an appropriate term as the Kallang area straddles both sides of the Kallang River.

Geography and landmarks
Kallang is often known commonly as Kallang Basin. The area is drained by the Kallang, Geylang, Rochor and Whampoa rivers, and the Pelton Canal. The perimeter of the area is made up of MacPherson in the north to Marina East in the south, Downtown Area in the west to Geylang in the east. The Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore, meanders through the area, and is a popular waterway for water sports.

Kallang is home to many light industrial estates, such as pipe makers, garment factories. Many heavy industry factories have been relocated away from this area, in order to promote residential use. Offices are often situated in Kallang for companies unwilling to pay for the high rent in the nearby Central Area, Singapore's central business district west of Kallang.

The housing estates, constructed by the Housing Development Board (HDB) in Kallang were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Some blocks are planned to be reconstructed under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) to redevelop the area, whose demographics are dominated by the middle-aged. New blocks which are 30 stories high are now prominent in the skyline of the area, with more being planned to be built under the new HDB construction policy. A notable major redevelopment is underway in the Old Airport estate, where many of the low-rise blocks have been demolished.

The Singapore National Stadium is located at Kallang, which was the venue of many sports events and featured the National Day Parade almost every year until it was officially closed on 30 June 2007. It was demolished to make way for the Singapore Sports Hub which is expected to be ready in April 2014.

The Kallang Cricket Ground is another sporting venue located in the district, and has played host to several One Day International cricket matches. In more recent times however, it is mainly used to host domestic competitions, and minor international matches, such as those between Singapore and Malaysia.

The Kallang Riverside Park along the Kallang River is a riverine park managed by the National Parks Board. On the side near to the Singapore Sports Hub is a beach while the other side near to Crawford Street is a pedestrian walkway. The walkway is connected to the Gardens by the Bay at Marina Centre.

Kallang Park Connector is part of the Park Connector Network managed by the National Parks Board. As their name imply, these connectors aim to form a continuous loop which would hopefully connect all the major parks within Singapore. The Kallang Park Connector runs parallel to Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore, except the stretch around Woodsville Interchange. It is 7.6km long and hence the third longest Park connector in Singapore, after Ulu Pandan Park Connector and Coastal Park Connector which are 8.5km and 8km long respectively.

One landmark in Kallang was the large blue tubular container that marked the location of the Kallang Gasworks. It was completed in 1862, when the piped gas supply was turned on in Singapore. It ceased production in 1997, and Senoko Gasworks took over providing gas. The place has been marked as a historic site by the National Heritage Board. Only Gasholder No. 3, with its structural columns, has been preserved.



Jurisdiction
Kallang is mostly under the Moulmein-Kallang Group Representation Constituency, which operates the local town council responsible for the general maintenance of the area. Part of the area around Boon Keng MRT Station is probably under Whampoa Single Member Constituency. Areas around the Old Kallang Airport Estate and Tanjong Rhu are probably under the Mountbatten Single Member Constituency.

Transportation
As it is in proximity to the Central Area, many transportation services pass through Kallang, and public bus services are abundant, integrating it into Singapore's transport system.

Road network
The streets in Kallang were not named using the numeric system. It is named after the estates of Kallang. Some examples are Boon Keng Road after the estate of Boon Keng, Stadium Boulevard after Stadium estate,  Old Airport Road and Mountbatten Road after  Old Airport and  Mountbatten estates and Tanjong Rhu Road after Tanjong Rhu. Some of the roads are also named after names of famous person, such as Horne Road along Kallang Road. The word "Kallang" are also found in roads such as Kallang Bahru, Kallang Road, Kallang Tengah and Kallang Way.

As Kallang was located at the fringe of Downtown Singapore, it has an extensive road network which serves the area well, as well as connecting to other estates and major towns in Singapore. The Pan Island Expressway (PIE), East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) links Kallang up with Singapore's expressway network. With the PIE, drivers can change onto the Central Expressway (CTE) which in turn, is connected to Seletar Expressway (SLE) and Tampines Expressway (TPE) in the north, and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) in the south. The CTE also serves part of the downtown of Singapore.

The following roads connect Kallang to other parts of Singapore:


 * Kallang Road links Kallang to the downtown
 * Geylang Road and Sims Avenue links Kallang to Geylang as well as the towns in the eastern part of Singapore;
 * Serangoon Road links the ethnic neighbourhood of Little India to Kallang;
 * Jalan Besar links Kallang to the city and estates such as Rochor;
 * Crawford Street and Republic Avenue links Kallang to Marina Centre and eventually, the downtown;
 * Mountbatten Road links Kallang to the East Coast area of Singapore;
 * Nicoll Highway links Kallang to the downtown.

The following expressways pass through Kallang:


 * Pan Island Expressway
 * Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway
 * East Coast Parkway
 * Central Expressway

The following roads run between the estates of Kallang:


 * Kallang Bahru serves the estate of Kallang Bahru;
 * Boon Keng Road and Upper Boon Keng Road connect Boon Keng to Kallang;
 * Kallang Way serves the industrial estate of Kolam Ayer;
 * Kallang Avenue, Kallang Junction and Kallang Place serve the industrial estates along Kallang Avenue;
 * Stadium Boulevard serves the upcoming Singapore Sports Hub;
 * Old Airport Road serves the Old Kallang Airport Estate;
 * Tanjong Rhu Road serves the neighbourhood of Tanjong Rhu in southern Kallang;
 * Bendemeer Road serves the estate of Boon Keng.

Rail service
Kallang is served by Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines, East West Line, North East Line and Circle MRT Line, stations at Kallang MRT Station, Boon Keng MRT Station, Mountbatten MRT Station and Stadium MRT Station. People going to Singapore Indoor Stadium would prefer using the Stadium MRT Station instead of the Kallang MRT Station.

Kallang is also served by the future Bendemeer MRT Station and Kallang Bahru MRT Station along the Downtown MRT Line.

Air travel
Kallang was home to Singapore's first airport, opened on the 12 June 1937 by Sir Shenton Thomas, the then Governor of Singapore. The airport had the advantages of combined facilities for both land and marine aircraft. Due to an increase in demand the Singapore International Airport was built in Paya Lebar. Kallang Airport ceased operations during the mid-1950s. The airport control building was eventually converted into the People's Association of Singapore HQ on the 1 July 1960 and the surrounding area has since been redeveloped.

Schools in the area
A number of schools were located in Kallang. They are Dunman High School, Bendemeer Primary School, Bendemeer Secondary School, Hong Wen School and ITE Balestier. The temporary school compound for the SJI Junior is also located in Kallang, along Geylang Bahru, next to the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex.