Choa Chu Kang Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Singapore, and the only burial cemetery still in operation.

Located in western Singapore, the cemetery is the final resting place for the deceased from various races and religions, including those from the Chinese, Christian, Ahmadiyya Jama'at, Muslim, Parsi, Bahá'í, Jewish, and Hindu communities.

But the cemetery's land area is now set to shrink.

On Tuesdy (July 18), the government announced plans to expand Tengah Air Base. The expansion will see Tengah Air Base taking on some of Paya Lebar Air Base's assets and facilities, which are due to be relocated there in 2030.

Approximately 106ha of land is required for the expansion and there are two ways in which the land will be acquired:

1. The exhumation of some graves at Choa Chu Kang cemetery, the largest cemetery in Singapore.
2. The compulsory acquisition of four plots of private land in the area by the government, which includes those currently occupied by privately-owned farms.

The land from the exhumed graves contribute approximately 100ha, forming the main bulk of the land necessary for the expansion.

This is a map showing the rough area that will be affected:

Muslim and Chinese graves dated between 1955 and 2000 will be affected,  with about 45,000 Chinese graves and 35,000 Muslim graves likely to be exhumed. As a result, the cemetery will lose close to a third of its total land area.

Graves which are older than 17 years will be exhumed first, starting with 5000 Muslim graves in the last quarter of 2018. The exhumation and cremation or reinternment costs will be borne by the government.

The dead make way for the living

This is not the first time graves have to be exhumed to make way for developments in Singapore. Other examples include Bukit Brown and Bidadari.

At Bukit Brown cemetery, more than 3,000 graves were exhumed for the construction of a new road. Details of the affected graves were published in 2012, and exhumation of the first batch began in 2013.

Bidadari cemetery also had to make way for housing developments in the early 2000s. Unlike Bukit Brown, the entire cemetery was cleared. Currently, the land is being used to build HDB flats.

Land scarcity in Singapore poses a challenge to development. Redevelopment of land often comes with opportunity costs and has to be weighed against arguments for preservation of heritage.

Top image from Wikipedia.

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