The seventies and eighties saw the rise of Singapore’s public swimming complexes. In almost every new town developed, there was one public pool to serve the residents. In the 20 years between 1970 and 1990, more than a dozen public swimming complexes were built at the heartlands.

Other than Bedok Swimming Complex, the other public swimming complexes built in the period of the seventies and eighties were at Queenstown (opened in 1970), Toa Payoh (1973), Katong (1975), Buona Vista (1976), Geylang East (1978), Delta (near Henderson, 1979), Paya Lebar (1981), Bukit Merah (1982), Ang Mo Kio (1982), Kallang Basin (1982), Clementi (1983), Yio Chu Kang (1986), Hougang (1987), Yishun (1988), Bukit Batok (1988) and Tampines (1989).

Opened in late 1981, Bedok Swimming Complex had four swimming pools – one competition pool and three used for training, wading and practice. The charges were at 60c and 30c for adults and those below 18 years old respectively for a two-hour swim.

In the early eighties, Bedok Swimming Complex was one of the most popular public swimming facilities in Singapore, with about 2,500 visitors daily. It was also one of the earliest in the country to install ticketing machines for payment of entry fees, a pilot scheme initiated in 1982 by the Singapore Sports Council (SSC).

The architectural design of Bedok Swimming Complex did not follow the conventional rectangular shape. Instead, Bedok Swimming Complex, when viewed from the top, had a trapezium shape, and its buildings had roofs in the shape of prisms. Similarly, the Ang Mo Kio Swimming Complex, also built in the early eighties, has buildings with roofs designed in triangular prism shapes.

The design of Bedok Swimming Complex won, in 1983, the outstanding design award at the Singapore Institute of Architects, along with six other Housing and Development Board (HDB) projects – the Zhujiao Centre (later renamed Tekka Centre), Rowell Court, Bedok Town Area Office, Jurong Mosque, Bukit Merah Town Centre and Ang Mo Kio New Town.

In the late eighties, Bedok Swimming Complex was one of the four swimming complexes used for training local sportsmen with potential to represent Singapore in swimming, diving and water polo. It was also one of the public swimming complexes where the National Family Swim was held. In 1997, despite the hazy condition, the mega event, flagged off by Minister of Community Development Abdullah Tarmugi, attracted more than 25,000 participants in more than a dozen pools.

A number of public swimming pools had closed in recent years. Yan Kit Swimming Complex (1952-2001), Jurong Town Swimming Complex (built by Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), 1970-mid-2000s), Boon Lay Swimming Complex (mid-1970s-mid-2000s), Buona Vista Swimming Complex (1976-2014), Pandan Gardens Swimming Complex (1978-early-2000s) and Paya Lebar Swimming Complex (1981-2007) were either demolished or redeveloped for other usages.