A tree and a naval base
Sembawang is named after the sembawang tree; Wallich recorded the specimen in Singapore in 1822. Through the 19th century the area grew gambier, pepper and pineapple. The site of the naval base was chosen in 1922, building began in 1928, and the base opened on 14 February 1938 — which is why so many roads here are named after Royal Navy dockyards, warships and admirals. It became the commercial Sembawang Shipyard in 1968.
The housing came late. In the 1990s the southern end of Sungei Sembawang, mangrove and ponds, was filled for the new town, and Sembawang station opened with the Woodlands extension on 10 February 1996.
What the planning area covers
Its nine subzones are Admiralty, Sembawang Central, Sembawang East, Sembawang North, Sembawang Springs, Sembawang Straits, Senoko North, Senoko South and The Wharves. The Admiralty subzone is part of Sembawang, but Admiralty station itself is in Woodlands.
New launches and land sales
- Canberra Crescent Residences — Kheng Leong Co. and Low Keng Huat, 376 units on a 99-year lease, launched in August 2025. URA awarded the site on 7 August 2024 to Peak Nature Pte Ltd and Huatland Development Pte. Ltd.
- Canberra Drive — an executive condominium site of about 185 units; HDB’s tender closes on 1 October 2026.
- Admiralty Walk — an executive condominium site of about 450 units, previously called Sembawang Drive; HDB’s tender closes on 17 December 2026.
The newest completed developments in the list — The Watergardens at Canberra, The Commodore and Provence Residence — carry the highest MCST numbers.
Getting around
Sembawang and Canberra are on the North–South Line.
Schools with pages here include Sembawang Primary, Canberra Primary and Wellington Primary.
Who manages the buildings here
Chambers Property Management Services (3) manage the most developments inside the boundary. About one in five of the developments here have no managing agent on record — many are small blocks run by their own council. Each building page lists its own office contact.
What to have ready
The management office will ask for the MCST number and your unit. Public carparks with live lot counts are on the carparks page; see also the District 27 page.
Sources: URA Master Plan 2019 planning area and subzone boundaries (data.gov.sg); BiblioAsia (Sembawang); NLB Infopedia (Sembawang Shipyard); HDB (Sembawang); NLB Infopedia (Woodlands MRT extension); EdgeProp (Canberra Crescent Residences); URA (Canberra Crescent award); HDB (Canberra Drive tender); HDB (Admiralty Walk tender). Buildings are listed when their coordinate falls inside URA’s boundary for the planning area; prices are left out because they change.
