June 18, 2023, 06:05 PM
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The remnants of Tuas TV World will be demolished come 2024.
Built between 1990 and 1992, the facility consisted of eight film sets reminiscent of local streets around the mid-1900s.
Photo via Ah Teo/Google Maps.
It was meant to provide a realistic setting for post-war period dramas.
Seated between Tuas Checkpoint Complex and the Land Transport Authority’s upcoming Integrated Train Testing Centre, Tuas TV World was built by Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) at a budget of about S$35 million, reported The Straits Times.
Image via Salleh Sariman/Flickr.
The complex comprised of five old Singapore sets and three China ones.
It also had a railway station and a 215m-long replica of the Singapore River.
Singapore's version of Hollywood
Once the largest outdoor television studio in the region, the sets of Tuas TV World helped bring to life nostalgic scenes in local period dramas.
Image via Salleh Sariman/Flickr.
You can spot the familiar shophouses, church, and kampungs in "Strange Encounter 3 (奇缘3)", "Tofu Street (豆腐街)", "The Price Of Peace (和平的代价)", "Wok Of Life (福满人间)", and "Hainan Kopi Tales (琼园咖啡香)".
"The Price of Peace", Episode 14. Image via Mediacorp.
"Hainan Kopi Tales", Episode 14. Image via Mediacorp.
As fewer period dramas were produced after the 1990s, the facility reportedly became too costly to maintain.
Once boasting over about 100 buildings, only 17 structures litter the remaining skeleton of Tuas TV World, reported ST.
Converted into police training site
A Singapore Police Force (SPF) representative told ST that the Special Operations Command leased the premises and converted it into a temporary training grounds, Tuas Training Village.
Up till 2009, the former film site was repurposed by different SPF units to carry out training for public order incidents, public security, forensic investigations, and scenario-based exercises.
Image via KYQH/Google Maps.
Brief revival
February 2012 saw a renaissance of sorts for the abandoned TV World, as Mediacorp returned to film Channel 8’s 30th anniversary period drama, "Joys Of Life (花样人间)".
"Joys Of Life", Episode 3. Image via Mediacorp.
"Joys Of Life", Episode 3. Image via Mediacorp.
Despite this passing comeback, Tuas TV World's ultimate fate was set in stone.
According to ST, the TV World's demolition is expected to carry on till "the second quarter of 2024" before the land is taken over by the Singapore Land Authority.
Top images via Shahab Geegeelee and Stephanie Ng on Google Maps
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