Singapore is served by a modern sanitation system in which all used water is collected through a network of sewers and channelled to water reclamation plants. But this was not always so. In the 1800s, the sewage collection and disposal system in Singapore relied ...

The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd (DBS) was established on 16 July 1968 as a public limited company to take over the industrial financing responsibilities of the Economic Development Board (EDB) and began operations on 1 September 1968. Its main function upon ...

The Singapore Green Plan (SGP) is Singapore's first environmental blueprint. Released in 1992 by the then Ministry of the Environment (now known as the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources or MEWR), its objective is to ensure that Singapore could develop ...

Launched in 2007, the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city (TEC) is the second flagship government-to-government project between Singapore and China following the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park which started in 1994. Developed from scratch on 30 sq km of non-arable ...

The China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project was launched in 1994 to develop a model industrial township within the city of Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu province. The first flagship joint project between the two governments, a key feature of the SIP involves ...

Fast food is an American term referring to “foods [that] are kept hot and ready to serve, or [are] partially prepared so that they can be served quickly.” 19th century pushcart vendors developed into urban diners, which then developed into the modern fast-food ...

Woodlands is a planning area in the north of Singapore. During the early colonial period, Woodlands was an agricultural area with plantation estates. It then became a major transport link between Singapore and Johor, and in the 1970s, the area was developed as ...

Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) is one of the most important Malay historical works, and one of the finest literary works written in Malay, that has been handed down in various versions. There were at least seven versions of this text. Sejarah Melayu is also one ...

Khoo Teck Puat (b. 13 January 1917, Singapore–d. 21 February 2004, Singapore) was a prominent businessman and investor with interests in banking, hotels, property development and other sectors. He controlled the Goodwood group of hotels and held significant stakes ...

G. D. (George Dromgold) Coleman (b. 1795, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland–d. 27 March 1844, Singapore) was Singapore’s pioneer colonial architect. He became the first Government Superintendent of Public Works when he was appointed in 1833. Coleman planned, surveyed ...

For much of the early 19th to mid-20th century, technical and vocational education in Singapore was underdeveloped due to the nature of the economy and the colonial government’s noninterference in education. Technical and vocational education gained importance ...

Public housing in Singapore may be said to have begun with the formal establishment of the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1927 by the colonial government to provide low-cost housing in addition to improvement works. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) ...

Radio broadcasting began in Singapore in 1924 through the initiatives of a small circle of amateur radio enthusiasts and hobbyists. It was developed further by commercial companies until it was nationalised by the colonial government in response to the threat of ...

In support of Singapore’s educational and cultural development, part-time branch libraries were started by the Raffles Library in the 1950s, with the first of these set up at Upper Serangoon in 1953. Stocked with books for juniors and adults, such as dictionaries, ...

The Four National Taps, a term used by then Minister for the Environment Lim Swee Say in 2004, refer to the four sources that Singapore relies on for its water supply. They comprise water from local catchment, imported water, high-grade reclaimed water known as ...

The Next Lap is a plan for Singapore’s long-term development. It includes ideas and proposals to make Singapore a nation of distinction. The term has also been used to refer to the period of time when Goh Chok Tong took over the premiership from Lee Kuan Yew in ...

PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, formerly known as the Public Utilities Board (PUB), is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). Its mission is to ensure an efficient, adequate and sustainable supply of water in ...

The Growth Triangle is a concept of mutual cooperation in economic development among three ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries – Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – focusing on Singapore, the Riau province in Indonesia and southern Johor in ...

Located on Guillemard Road, the former Singapore Badminton Hall was built to host the 1952 Thomas Cup, which was first held in England in 1949 and won by the Malayan team. Although the games did not eventually take place in the building, subsequent Thomas Cup matches ...

Recognising the importance of family planning to national development, the government organised Singapore’s first national family planning campaign in 1960. The campaign aimed to raise public awareness on the need for family planning and the disadvantages of having ...