Historical Origins
The name "Bukit Batok" is derived from the Malay words "Bukit" which means Hill and "Batok" which means Cough. As early as the 1950s, the Bukit Batok area had been used for granite quarrying. The blasting of the granite quarries sounded as though the hills were coughing, hence the name "Bukit Batok".

In the 1950s, Bukit Batok was still a sleepy rural outback. The area was relatively undeveloped and mainly occupied by forest and farm lands. The few factories located in the area included Hume Industries and Ford Motor Works Factory (The British surrendered to the Japanese in the boardroom of this former Ford factory on 15 February 1942. To this day, the front portion of the building remains conserved).

In the 1960s, Bukit Batok remained sparsely populated. Most residents lived in squatters and temporary structures. In the 1970s, the government cleared the squatters to make way for a modern satellite town. In the 1980s, HDB flats were built in Bukit Batok.



Location and Layout
Bukit Batok town is located in the Western Region of Singapore. Bukit Batok Town is bounded by Upper Bukit Timah Road and Old Jurong Road to the east; Pan Island Expressway to the south; Bukit Batok Road to the west and Chua Chu Kang Road to the north.

To the east of Bukit Batok Town is Bukit Panjang Town. On the south-west, and on the south, lay Jurong Town and Clementi Town respectively.



Transport Facilites
The town is served by the Bukit Batok and Bukit Gombak MRT stations, as well as by the Bukti Batok Bus Interchange located at the town centre. It has excellent public transportation links including the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) to the south.



Housing Options
Bukit Batok Town is a relatively new town. Located in a hilly region amidst nature reserves and former granite quarries, the town is well known for its scenic spots, especially Little Guilin (also known as Bukit Batok Town Park).

Bukit Batok Town offers a good mix of low, medium and high-density housing. This includes varied housing types like hillside condominiums, step housing, condominiums on slopes and house on stilts. More housing developments are planned in the Bukit Batok area, including housing sites near transit stations.

The Jurong Town Council maintains a list of HDB blocks in Bukit Batok Town that are in the upgrading process, or have been upgraded, under the Interim Upgrading Programme (IUP).



Town Amenities & Attractions
Bukit Batok Town is well served by community facilities such as schools, places of worship, the Bukit Batok Community Library (located within West Mall), and the Bukit Batok Polyclinic.

To offer more green spaces for people to enjoy, extensions has been proposed to the existing 36 ha Bukit Batok Nature Park, as well as to the well-known 42 ha Bukit Batok Town Park.

Popular shopping complexes in Bukit Batok Town include the West Mall (conveniently located next to Bukit Batok MRT and Bus Interchange). West Mall is one of the very few shopping malls in Singapore that houses a community library for residents hungry for books and knowledge.



Quality Education
A new Junior College will be built near Bukit Batok Town Centre (at the junction of Bukit Batok West Avenue 3 and Avenue 8). This will be the third Junior College in Singapore's Western region, after Jurong Junior College and Pioneer Junior College. Occupying a site area of 6 ha, the new school is expected to be ready by 2005.

Some of the quality schools in the Bukit Batok area...