The following lists events that happened during 2016 in the Republic of Singapore.
Incumbents President: Tony Tan Keng Yam Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Events January 7 January – Netflix is launched in Singapore. 11 January – Viu is launched in Singapore, providing Asian dramas. 15 January – The 13th Parliament of Singapore (which consist of a 92-member parliament formed after the general election last September) opens its inaugural session. 18 January – Waterway Point opens in Punggol. 21 January – Several plans were announced for transport, including dedicating express bus lanes for the North–South Expressway with cycling and walking paths aboveground, and a cycling lane for Bencoolen Street by 2017 with walking paths. More cycling paths will be built in estates like Bidadari, Tampines and Ang Mo Kio, along with better public transport. Eventually, a new target for 85 percent of commuters travelling by public transport by 2050s was set.
February 4 February - The Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange will be upgraded, with all operations moved to a temporary interchange on 12 March. 5 February – The Singapore General Hospital campus will undergo a makeover that will stretch for 20 years. 25 February – The Electronic Road Pricing system will be revamped into ERP 2.0 from 2020 onwards. 29 February – Sam Kee LRT station is opened.
March 3 March – Singapore Airlines took delivery of an A350, which arrived in Singapore. The Marina Bay District Cooling Network is fully commissioned, making it the world's biggest. The success of this project led the Ministry of National Development to consider it for Jurong Lake District. 10 March – Design 2025 is launched with 15 recommendations to make Singapore a global city of design, all accepted by the Ministry of Communications and Information. 11 March – After a voting exercise beginning on 8 January, Lush Green is selected as the new bus livery colour over Bright Red. At the same time, two concept buses with three doors, two staircases and USB charging ports are released. 16 March – Farrer Park Hospital is officially opened. 22 March – A MRT train accident occurs at Pasir Ris MRT station, causing two fatalities. 24 March – Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat delivers his inaugural budget statement in Parliament, entitled Budget 2016. The new Jurong Innovation District will be built too with the first phase by 2022, as well as a new Industry Transformation Programme unveiled, with Industry Transformation Maps to guide industries' transformation efforts. 27 March – Shaw Theatres closes its Bugis Junction branch.
April 8 April – The Ministry of Education announced a new expanded Early Admission Exercise for admission to polytechnics, as well as an expanded Discretionary Admission Scheme for admission to universities. Also in, all Secondary 3 students will have a chance to experience five-day OBS camps from 2020, made possible with a new OBS campus in Coney Island. 11 April – The Ministry of Communications and Information announced that Wireless@SG speeds will increase from 2Mpbs to 5Mpbs by end-2016, as well as the doubling of hotspots to 20,000 by 2018. 12 April – Kidzania Singapore opens its doors in Sentosa, but hence reopening in 2024 after four years of its closure since 2020. 13 April – The Ministry of Health announced a war on diabetes. A new taskforce is formed to tackle the issue with three strategies. 19 April – Waterway Point, a waterfront mall in Punggol, officially opens. Apple Pay is launched in Singapore. Since then, Samsung Pay and Android Pay are launched too. 24 April - Punggol Safra Clubhouse opened its doors to the public and National Servicemen. 28 April – The Land Transport Authority announced a new North–South Corridor, which is a 21.5 km expressway which goes from the northern region to the city. It will be integrated with several bus and bicycle lanes, with completion by 2026. 29 April – Phase 1 of the future Tuas Terminal starts construction, with the first caisson launched.
May 6 May – Circles.Life is launched as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). 7 May – Murali Pillai, a former candidate who previously contested the opposition-held Aljunied GRC in last year's general election, is elected as MP for the Bukit Batok By-Election, succeeding David Ong, who resigned on 12 March citing an extra-marital affair. Pillai is sworn into Parliament two days later. 12 May – Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat suffers a stroke during a Cabinet meeting, and is rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital to undergo neurosurgery treatment; in Heng's place until 22 August, his Ministerial Portfolio was relieved by Deputy Prime Minister (and former Finance Minister) Tharman Shanmugaratnam, while MPs of Tampines GRC and Tampines Central predecessor, Sin Boon Ann oversee Heng's ward. 13 May – As part of the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic, the first case of Zika virus infection in Singapore is announced; a Singaporean man who had travelled to Brazil. He made a full recovery by 17 May. 20 May – Sarawakian convicted murderer Jabing Kho is executed in Changi Prison at 3:30 pm after the latest appeal is dismissed by the Supreme Court. 29 May – Services 77, 106, 173, 177, 189, 941, 945, 947 & 990 handed over to Tower Transit Singapore.
June 1 June – The smoking ban is extended to parks and reservoirs, as well as SAF and MHA camps. Plans are unveiled for the revamp of Mandai. Two new parks will be located, namely the Bird Park and Rainforest Park, as well as eco-accommodation. The project will be ready by 2020. 2 June – The National Council of Social Service launches a five-year campaign called "See The True Me" to encourage inclusion for persons with disabilities. 7 June – The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that foreign sponsors will not be allowed to sponsor any event at Speakers' Corner (including Pink Dot) in a bid to counter foreign interference. MHA clarified a day later that no action will be taken against foreign sponsors of Pink Dot that year. 12 June – Services 66, 78, 79, 97, 97e & 143/143M handed over to Tower Transit Singapore. 16 June – After a spate of lift accidents resulting in one fatality, the Building and Construction Authority announced the tightening of lift maintenance, requiring lifts to display permits to operate, and mandatory reporting of incidents involving lifts. More details are given for this, taking effect on 25 July. Similar requirements for escalators are announced on 8 July, taking effect on 1 November. 19 June – Loyang Bus Depot is officially opened during a carnival. 25 June – Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat is discharged from Tan Tock Seng Hospital after six weeks of stroke treatment, and announced that Heng was currently taking medical leave to focus on his rehabilitation. It is also revealed that Heng will not be attending the 2016's National Day Parade (to be held on 9 August), citing that he would avoid further infection after revealing that he also suffered a lung infection during his intensive care. 26 June – Services 41, 49, 96, 98/98M, 183, 282, 284, 285, 333, 334 & 335 handed over to Tower Transit Singapore. Underwater World, Singapore ceases operations. 27 June – Singapore Airlines Flight 368's right wing engine #2 catches fire after takeoff from Singapore Changi Airport and makes emergency landing on the same airport it took off from. No injuries are reported. 30 June – Funan DigitaLife Mall ceases operation and begins demolition. MINDEF announced that pre-enlistees entering National Service from 2017 can choose vocations (which is later revealed as 33 vocations), subject to operational needs.
July 5 July – FactWire reports that several C151A trains are being secretly recalled. 7 July – A robbery occurs at a Standard Chartered branch in Holland Village. 12 July – The Army Deployment Force was officially inaugurated in Nee Soon Camp. 13 July – The Ministry of Education announced that the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) T-scores will be revamped into 8 Achievement Levels in a bid to reduce stress, taking effect from 2021. In addition, choice order will be a new tie-breaker for secondary school posting. 19 July – Singapore and Malaysia sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project. The 350 km line is targeted for completion by 2026, with the journey between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur taking 90 minutes. In addition, there will be three services with trains travelling up to 300 km/h. 21 July – The first Singapore edition of the Michelin Guide is released. 26 July – A controversy erupts after stories of inappropriate games emerged during National University of Singapore (NUS) camps. 30 July – The first National Reading Day is launched to get Singaporeans to read.
August 1 August – The Transport Safety Investigation Bureau is formed from a merger of the Air Accident Investigation Bureau and Marine Safety Investigation Branch of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. The second phase of the ban covering all emerging tobacco products and shisha comes into effect. 5–21 August – 25 athletes from Singapore compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team produced a single medal: (on 12 August Brazil time/13 August Singapore time) swimmer Joseph Schooling beat American Michael Phelps (then the most decorated Olympian of all time) in the 100 m butterfly to win Singapore's first ever Olympic gold medal and set an Olympic record. 5 August – Indonesian police foils a rocket plot on Marina Bay. 6 August – Pokémon Go, a record-setting augmented reality game, is officially released in Singapore. 9 August - The National Day Parade (NDP) 2016 returns to the brand new indoor National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub after a 10-year hiatus of the parade being held at the former National Stadium since 2006. 15 August – The Administration of Justice (Protection) Act is passed to deal with cases of contempt of court more effectively. 21 August – A health scare occurs during the National Day Rally speech, which is resolved an hour later. 22 August – Former President, S.R. Nathan (the nation's sixth and longest-serving at the time) dies at the age of 92, after suffering a stroke three weeks prior. On 25 August, over 20,000 paid their respects when he was lying in state at Parliament House, Singapore. On 26 August, Nathan was accorded a state funeral and cremated at Mandai Crematorium. 25 August – NuTonomy launches the world's first driverless taxi trials in one-north. 26 August – During the 2016 Southeast Asian haze caused by Indonesia, Singapore's 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) entered the 'unhealthy' range of above 100, while its 3-hour PSI reached 215. 27–31 August – Over five days, the first 115 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in Singapore are confirmed; 110 from the combined area of Aljunied Crescent, Kallang Way, Paya Lebar Way and Sims Drive. The remaining live at various areas: Bedok North Avenue 3, Joo Seng Road, and Punggol Way.
September 4 September – Services 3, 34, 43/43M, 62, 82, 83, 84, 85, 118, 119, 136, 382 & 386 handed over to Go-Ahead Singapore. 7–18 September – 13 athletes from Singapore compete in six sports (archery, athletics, boccia, equestrian, swimming, and sailing) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On 10 September, swimmer Yip Pin Xiu won a gold medal in the 100m backstroke, S2 finals with a world record of 2:07.09, with an additional world record for the 59.38 split for the first 50m of the race. Yip won another gold medal on 16 September in the 50m backstroke, S2 finals with a time of 1:00.33, becoming the first Singaporean to win multiple gold medals at the Paralympics. On 12 September, swimmer Theresa Goh won a bronze medal in the SB4 100m breaststroke final, with a time of 1:55.55. While qualifying for the finals, she set a new Asian record in the heats at 1:54.50.