PUB has finished upgrading the full 2.3km Upper Bukit Timah Canal, which now carries 30 per cent more stormwater, the national water agency confirmed in a press release on Friday (23 October).
The final stretch
The last section, 900m from Rifle Range Road to Jalan Kampong Chantek near King Albert Park MRT station, started in October 2019. The upstream section between Jalan Jurong Kechil and Rifle Range Road was completed in 2024.
The canal was widened and deepened, and its old trapezoid shape rebuilt as a U-shaped drain and box culvert. The S$60 million job, as CNA reported the cost, also put in structural supports for the Bukit Timah-Rochor Green Corridor within the canal. Traffic on Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road was diverted in stages, with replacement lanes, to make room for the works.
The upgraded canal can now cope with rainfall as intense as the storms of the past 15 years. It protects a 1,000ha catchment of homes, Beauty World Plaza, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, Dunearn Village, and Beauty World and King Albert Park MRT stations.
Why it still matters
Bukit Timah’s valley shape funnels stormwater quickly into the low-lying canal, building work has added to the runoff, and there is little space to widen the canal further. Very intense storms can still overwhelm the catchment.
The First Diversion Canal opened in 1972 to send upstream water to Sungei Ulu Pandan, and was upgraded in 2019 to carry 30 per cent more. The Second Diversion Canal followed in 1990, sending water to the Kallang River.
Three drainage systems
- Upper Bukit Timah Canal, 2.3km from Beauty World to Maple Avenue, drains through the First Diversion Canal to Sungei Ulu Pandan
- Middle Bukit Timah Canal, 5.1km from Maple Avenue to Balmoral Road, drains through the Second Diversion Canal to the Kallang River
- Lower Bukit Timah Canal, 2.5km from Balmoral Road to Serangoon Road, drains through Rochor Canal to Marina Reservoir
What comes next
PUB will call a tender at the end of 2026 for a feasibility study on flood measures across the whole Bukit Timah catchment, including underground detention structures. Before the year-end Northeast Monsoon, PUB will also run its third annual Flood Resilience Campaign.
“We need to plan ahead today so that we are ready to implement the right solutions when they are needed,” said Angela Koh, PUB’s deputy chief executive for flood resilience.
