SINGAPORE – Construction for the upcoming Goh Keng Swee Centre for Education will start in 2025, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said on Oct 22.

       Slated to be ready in 2029, the new building, located in North Buona Vista Drive, will house staff from MOE’s headquarters from various sites – Balestier, Grange Road and Ghim Moh – as well as the School Cluster Centre, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language and the Academy of Singapore Teachers.

       The 30-storey tower will occupy a site area of about 5,000 sq m and can accommodate about 2,000 staff in its estimated gross floor area of 65,000 sq m.

       Plans for the new building were first announced by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally in 2010. MOE had received development approvals for the project from the Urban Redevelopment Authority in the last quarter of 2023, The Straits Times had reported in January 2024.

       Specialist academies such as the English Language Institute of Singapore, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language at Ghim Moh and Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the Arts – currently sited within Academy of Singapore Teachers – will also be moved to this new site.

       It will also house the MOE Heritage Centre, currently located at MOE’s headquarters in Balestier, which showcases the history of Singapore’s education system, Dr Goh Keng Swee’s legacy and his contributions to education.

       Dr Goh served as deputy prime minister from 1973 to 1984, and as education minister from 1979 to 1984.

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       He was tasked to lead an overhaul of the education system in 1978. The changes brought about by a report done by his team included the streaming of pupils into different tracks at Primary 3 and Primary 6 to cater to their learning aptitudes, and the setting up of the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore which developed Singapore textbooks to replace imported teaching materials.

       Designed to be a super low energy building, the Goh Keng Swee Centre for Education will have sustainable features such as solar panels and a district cooling system.

       In a statement, MOE said this move will allow staff from its various headquarters sites to consolidate at a single location together with the adjacent MOE Building, as well as free up land in various parts of the island for other uses.

       Together with the existing MOE Building, the Goh Keng Swee Centre for Education represents the ministry’s commitment to meeting Singapore’s evolving educational needs by creating a collaborative workspace and fostering synergy among its staff, it said.

       “It is hoped that the new complex will be a symbol of the importance of education to Singaporeans,” it said.

       MOE said it will implement measures to minimise disruptions to surrounding areas and businesses in North Buona Vista Drive during the construction period, including traffic management and noise control.