Colonial History

• In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles (1781-1826), governor of Bencoolen, signed a treaty on behalf of the British East India Company to develop part of Singapore as a British trading post and settlement. According to the National Library Singapore, by 1847, small pox decimated the Orang Kallang population.
  
  

Waterfront Development

• Between 1932 and 1936, reclaiming part of the Kallang Basin led to Singapore's first airport in 1937. According to the EXCAP Virtual Conference, plans to clean the Kallang Basin between 1977 and 1987 relocated 26,000 families to the Housing and Development Board Estates. Workshops, farms and industries also moved from the water's edge. Although Singapore is an island, the population imported water since 1927. Major water projects involve desalination.
  
  

Major Facilities

• Kallang as an urban planning center developed riverside parks, leisure and retail centers. In 1973, the Kallang National Stadium opened and hosted the National Day Celebrations and sports events. Plans for a sports hub include a new 55,000-capacity National Stadium, Water Sports Centre and other facilities.
  
  In 2008, the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway opened and serves as Southeast Asia's longest underground expressway.