Bukit Merah neighbourhood guide

Overview: who Bukit Merah suits

Bukit Merah is a large, central planning area that takes in several neighbourhoods people often treat as separate places. URA's map gives it seventeen subzones, among them Tiong Bahru, Kampong Tiong Bahru, Bukit Ho Swee, Redhill, Henderson Hill, Alexandra Hill, Alexandra North, Depot Road, Everton Park, the three Telok Blangah subzones, Maritime Square and City Terminals around HarbourFront, and a subzone for Singapore General Hospital. The 2020 Census counted 151,250 residents in 59,700 households.

What ties the area together is its position. It runs from the fringe of the CBD at Outram and Everton Park, through Tiong Bahru and Redhill, to Telok Blangah, Mount Faber and the waterfront at HarbourFront and Keppel. That gives residents a city-fringe address with the facilities of an established HDB town: hawker centres, polyclinics, two hospitals, community clubs and a long list of schools.

Bukit Merah suits city workers who want a short commute without paying city-centre prices for space, families who value schools and healthcare close by, and anyone who likes established neighbourhoods such as Tiong Bahru. It also suits people who like the outdoors, with Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill and Labrador on the southern side.

Who lives here

Bukit Merah's residents are older on average. In the 2020 Census, 22.0% of its 151,250 residents were aged 65 and over, against 15.2% nationally, and 12.6% were children aged 0 to 14, against 14.5%. The area's two hospitals, two polyclinics and seven community clubs suit that profile.

Getting around: MRT stations

LTA's records place nine stations with exits in Bukit Merah, and two of them opened in 2026.

The East-West Line runs through Tiong Bahru (EW17) and Redhill (EW18). HarbourFront (NE1/CC29) is an interchange between the North East Line and the Circle Line. The Circle Line also has Labrador Park (CC27) and Telok Blangah (CC28) in the south. LTA's exit records also place exits for Outram Park and Havelock (TE16) inside the planning area.

Since 12 July 2026, Circle Line Stage 6 has added Keppel (CC30) and Cantonment (CC31) in Bukit Merah, closing the loop between HarbourFront and Marina Bay. For residents of Telok Blangah, Everton Park and the Keppel side, that is a new direct route into the southern CBD. Our Circle Line Stage 6 explainer has the details.

Primary and secondary schools

MOE lists eleven schools under Bukit Merah. The seven primary schools are Alexandra Primary, Blangah Rise Primary, Cantonment Primary, CHIJ (Kellock), Gan Eng Seng Primary, Radin Mas Primary and Zhangde Primary. The four secondary schools are Bukit Merah Secondary, CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent, Crescent Girls' School and Gan Eng Seng School. MOE marks Crescent Girls' School as autonomous.

Three of the eleven are girls' schools: CHIJ (Kellock) at primary level, and CHIJ St. Theresa's Convent and Crescent Girls' School at secondary level. For Primary 1, priority in oversubscribed schools depends on citizenship and home-school distance measured on OneMap; our P1 registration guide explains the bands. Because the planning area is long and narrow, the schools within 1 km of a Tiong Bahru home are quite different from those near a Telok Blangah one.

Pre-schools and childcare

ECDA's 2024 location lists place 73 pre-schools and 13 kindergartens in Bukit Merah. The 2020 Census counted about 19,100 children aged 0 to 14 across the planning area, so most estates have a centre close by, often on the ground floor of an HDB block. ECDA's own search tool shows fees, opening hours and current vacancies for each centre, which change more often than any guide can track.

Malls and everyday shopping

OneMap places three shopping centres inside Bukit Merah: VivoCity at 1 HarbourFront Walk, Tiong Bahru Plaza at 302 Tiong Bahru Road and Alexandra Central at 321 Alexandra Road.

Hawker centres and food

Bukit Merah has more hawker centres than any other area in our series. NEA lists fifteen, one under construction:

NEA also lists Redhill Market and Telok Blangah Market as market blocks without cooked-food stalls, and a new Telok Blangah Hawker Centre and Market at 78C Telok Blangah Drive, under construction with 40 stalls and an estimated 2027 completion. Five of these centres have more than 80 cooked-food stalls each. Our hawker centres by region article puts them in context.

Parks and recreation

NParks lists eleven parks in Bukit Merah, and several are among the best-known green spaces in the south. The list includes Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and Labrador Nature Park. Berlayer Creek, Tiong Bahru Park, Kim Pong Park, Silat Avenue Park, King's Dock Park and Ganges Avenue open space complete the list.

For residents, that mix means both neighbourhood parks among the HDB blocks and larger nature and coastal spaces within a short ride. Our coastal parks guide covers Labrador alongside East Coast, West Coast and Pasir Ris.

Healthcare

Bukit Merah has strong healthcare access. OneMap places Singapore General Hospital at 1 Hospital Crescent and Outram Community Hospital at 10 Hospital Boulevard in the planning area, along with two public polyclinics: Bukit Merah Polyclinic at 163 Bukit Merah Central and Outram Polyclinic at 3 Second Hospital Avenue. MOH lists 59 CHAS-registered clinics.

Community facilities

People's Association lists seven community clubs here: Bukit Merah, Henderson, Kim Seng, Leng Kee, Radin Mas, Telok Blangah and Tiong Bahru. NLB's Harbour Front Public Library is in the area, and SportSG lists Delta Sport Centre and an ActiveSG gym at Enabling Village.

Housing landscape

The 2020 Census household mix:

About nine in ten households lived in HDB flats, the highest HDB share in our series, and almost one in five lived in 1- or 2-room flats. HDB's median resale prices for the second quarter of 2026 were S$430,000 for a 3-room flat and S$944,000 for a 4-room flat in Bukit Merah. Our HDB resale medians by town explains how to read these figures.

Private housing is a small share, but the new projects listed below show where it is being added: on Keppel Island, at Zion Promenade and on Kim Seng Road.

The pockets of Bukit Merah

The area is easiest to understand as four parts. Tiong Bahru and Bukit Ho Swee, around Tiong Bahru station, have Tiong Bahru Market and Tiong Bahru Plaza. Redhill, Henderson Hill and Alexandra, around Redhill station, have the cluster of large hawker centres at Redhill, Bukit Merah View and Alexandra Village. Telok Blangah and Depot Road sit on the southern slope, with Telok Blangah and Labrador Park stations and the ridge parks. And HarbourFront, Maritime Square and Keppel form the waterfront, with VivoCity, HarbourFront station and the new Keppel and Cantonment stations.

Before you move: a short checklist

• Which Bukit Merah. Decide which of the four pockets suits you; the commute, food and schools differ between Tiong Bahru and Telok Blangah.
• Rail line. Note whether the home is closer to the East-West Line, the Circle Line or the new stations at Keppel and Cantonment.
• Schools. Check the 1 km and 2 km bands on OneMap for the exact address.
• Flat age. With a wide spread of flat types and ages, check the remaining lease of any HDB flat you consider.
• Works nearby. Ask about construction near the home, such as the Telok Blangah hawker centre due in 2027.

How Bukit Merah compares

Bukit Merah has the most hawker centres and markets of any planning area in our series: 15 on NEA's register for about 151,000 residents, roughly one for every 10,000 people. It also has the highest HDB share we recorded, about 90% of households in 2020, and the smallest landed group, at 190 households. Two polyclinics, Singapore General Hospital and Outram Community Hospital all sit inside the boundary, which few other areas can match.

Prices sit at the upper end for HDB towns. The 2026-Q2 4-room median was S$944,000, below Queenstown at S$1,035,000 but above Clementi at S$888,900. More than a fifth of residents were 65 or over in 2020.

Upcoming changes

The Circle Line loop opened in July 2026, adding Keppel and Cantonment stations. NEA's new Telok Blangah Hawker Centre and Market is under construction for an estimated 2027 completion. URA's Master Plan 2025 rail layer marks Keppel and Cantonment among the stations inside the planning area. We list only changes with an official source and date.

New launches nearby

These residential projects sit inside the Bukit Merah planning area on URA's boundaries. Each card links to the project's own website.

FAQ

Is Tiong Bahru part of Bukit Merah?

Yes. URA's map places the Tiong Bahru and Kampong Tiong Bahru subzones inside the Bukit Merah planning area.

Which new MRT stations opened in Bukit Merah in 2026?

Keppel (CC30) and Cantonment (CC31), part of Circle Line Stage 6, opened on 12 July 2026.

How many hawker centres are in Bukit Merah?

NEA lists fifteen, including Tiong Bahru Market, Redhill Food Centre, ABC Brickworks and Alexandra Village Food Centre, with a new Telok Blangah centre under construction.

Which hospitals are in Bukit Merah?

Singapore General Hospital and Outram Community Hospital, with Bukit Merah and Outram polyclinics nearby.

Is HarbourFront in Bukit Merah?

Yes. HarbourFront station and VivoCity are inside the Bukit Merah planning area, opposite Sentosa.

What do HDB flats cost in Bukit Merah?

HDB's 2026-Q2 medians were S$430,000 for a 3-room flat and S$944,000 for a 4-room flat.

Nearby neighbourhoods

Guides for neighbouring planning areas: Queenstown, Southern Islands (Sentosa), Downtown Core.

Other planning areas that border Bukit Merah on URA's map: River Valley, Singapore River, Outram, Tanglin, Straits View. We have not published guides for these yet.

Browse all twelve on our neighbourhood guides page.

Sources

1. URA, Master Plan 2019 Planning Area Boundary (No Sea), data.gov.sg
2. URA, Master Plan 2019 Subzone Boundary (No Sea), data.gov.sg
3. LTA, MRT Station Exit (GEOJSON), data.gov.sg
4. LTA, Train Station Chinese Names (station codes and lines), data.gov.sg; LTA rail system map
5. LTA news releases, 14 May and 24 June 2026: Circle Line Stage 6 opens 12 July 2026
6. URA, Master Plan 2025 Rail Station Name layer, data.gov.sg
7. MOE, General information of schools, data.gov.sg
8. NEA, Hawker Centres (GEOJSON), data.gov.sg
9. People's Association, Community Clubs, data.gov.sg
10. NParks, Parks, data.gov.sg
11. MOH, CHAS Clinics, data.gov.sg
12. NLB, Libraries, data.gov.sg
13. SportSG, Sport Facilities (GEOJSON), data.gov.sg
14. SingStat, Census of Population 2020: Resident Households by Planning Area and Type of Dwelling, data.gov.sg
15. SingStat, Census of Population 2020: Resident Population by Planning Area/Subzone, Age Group and Sex, data.gov.sg
16. HDB, Median Resale Prices for Registered Applications by Town and Flat Type (2026-Q2), data.gov.sg
17. SLA, OneMap search (venue addresses and locations)
18. ECDA, Kindergartens and Pre-Schools Location, data.gov.sg

Facts were checked on 14 and 15 November 2026. Our editorial policy explains how we choose sources.

Last updated 15 November 2026