The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced a new multistorey bus depot in Yishun which can house up to 500 buses and is set to be completed by 2029.

The depot will be located in Yishun Avenue 8, opposite Yishun Fire Station and on the vacated premises of former Simpang Dormitory, which was used to house foreign workers and closed down in 2019.

Construction is set to start in 2024, LTA told The Straits Times.

LTA added that the Simpang bus depot is a replacement depot, but did not explain which existing bus depot it will replace.

The new depot will be built to serve buses operating in the north of Singapore.

A tender for the new depot was released through the government e-commerce website GeBIZ on Feb. 2, reported Lianhe Zaobao.

The depot will have multiple buildings including a four-storey main building and a multi-storey quarters for transport workers.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, this integration will allow ease of access and convenience for bus captains, as well as increase land use efficiency.

The main depot building will be used to facilitate bus parking, repair and maintenance, and electric bus charging.

Solar panels will be placed at the top of the building.

The five new bus depots in Singapore include the Sengkang West and Gali Batu depots, which are set to open in 2024, and an East Coast depot pending completion by 2025.

Kim Chuan and Tengah will also have new bus depots, and are set to start operations in 2025 and 2026.

LTA said the construction of these new bus depots are part of the authority's initiatives to ensure that bus operations continue to be well supported and also to improve the resiliency of Singapore's public transport systems.

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