New Outward Bound Singapore Campus on Coney Island to Open in 2026, Expansion of Youth Adventure Programs Underway

The new Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) campus on Coney Island is slated to officially open in the second half of 2026, a decade after its initial announcement during the 2016 Singapore Budget. The completion of the campus was highlighted during the recent debate on the budget for the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) on March 5th.

Scaling Up Outdoor Adventure Education

The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) OBS Challenge will be progressively expanded to include the entire Secondary 3 cohort in Singapore by 2030. In 2025, approximately 65% of Secondary 3 students – around 18,000 individuals – participated in the program, which focuses on building life skills, confidence, and resilience among youth. The goal is for all 15-year-olds in Singapore to experience OBS at least once during their schooling.

Coney Island Campus Features

The five-day residential program, part of the National Outdoor Adventure Education (NOAE) Masterplan, provides opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds to collaborate and develop physical and mental fortitude. The new OBS Coney Island campus will feature advanced rope challenge courses, integrated climbing systems, and other team-based activities. The campus has been awarded the Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy status by the Building and Construction Authority, reflecting its environmentally conscious design, which aims to blend with the island’s natural vegetation through low-rise structures and diverse plant life to support local fauna.

Additional Initiatives

Alongside the OBS campus, several other initiatives were announced:

• Somerset Belt Youth CoLab: A new collaborative space will be established to empower youth to lead and manage programs within the Somerset Belt and *SCAPE, with an annual budget of $300,000.
• Indian Engagement and Development Committee (INEI): This new committee, chaired by Senior Minister of State for Transport Murali Pillai and Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash, will focus on strengthening the Singapore Indian identity, coordinating community efforts, and developing youth leadership.
• SG Partnerships Fund: A $50 million fund will be available from April 1st to support ground-up initiatives benefiting the community, offering funding tiers for individuals, groups, and organizations.

Addressing Delays and Future Plans

The Coney Island campus, originally planned for completion in 2020, faced delays due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the require to minimize environmental impact during construction. MCCY stated that the project is a major development requiring careful consideration of these factors.

While there were suggestions to extend OBS programs to all ages and expand overseas opportunities, the ministry’s current priority is to successfully implement the scaled-up MOE-Outward Bound Singapore Challenge for students before considering further expansion.