Singapore recently announced that it will commence a land reclamation project to create a “Long Island” on the eastern coast of the city-state.
The threat of rising sea levels is growing for Singapore. With around 30% of its land less than five meters above mean sea level, Singapore is extremely vulnerable to the impact of sea level rise. This is especially the case for the East Coast area, where there are already instances of flooding within East Coast Park when high tides coincide with heavy rain. Such events will not only adversely impact Singaporeans’ lives, but also disrupt the operation of critical infrastructure linked to the area, such as East Coast Parkway and Changi Airport.
‘Long Island’ comprises land reclaimed off the East Coast, and could take the form of ‘islands’ located some distance away from the existing coastline. It offers an integrated solution that will meet multiple national needs, including coastal protection, flood resilience, water resilience, creating more land to meet future development needs, as well as new recreational opportunities for the East Coast.
Land at ‘Long Island’ will be reclaimed to a higher level and form a continuous line of defense along the coast for protection against rising sea levels. The existing outlet drains along the coast today will drain into a new reservoir. The reservoir will include two centralized tidal gates and pumping stations, similar to Marina Barrage, which will keep out seawater during high tides and discharge stormwater into the sea during heavy rainfall. The new reservoir will also provide a new source of water supply, enhancing Singapore’s water resilience.
Besides ‘Long Island’, agencies also studied building a sea wall up to 3 meters in height along the entire waterfront of East Coast Park (from Marina East to Tanah Merah). This sea wall would need to be supplemented by 12 tidal gates and pumping stations, one at each of the 12 existing outlet drains along this stretch of the coastline.
‘Long Island’ could be approximately two times the size of Marina Bay (by land area) and is expected to take a few decades to plan, design and implement. In view of the urgency to protect the East Coast from sea level rise, agencies are commencing technical studies from early 2024, and concurrently engage stakeholders and the public as part of the process.
(Source: Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore)
