120km of southern coastline to be put to good use
Singapore is set to remake its southern coast, with a continuous 120km-long waterfront stretching from Pasir Panjang Terminal to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal offering many possibilities to imagine and build its future city, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
As part of this transformation, new homes will be added to waterfront precincts near the city, in Marina East and Nicoll – an area between Marina Bay and the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang.
Singapore’s southern coastline will eventually comprise the Greater Southern Waterfront, Marina Bay, Kallang Basin and the future Long Island project, which could create 800ha of reclaimed land off East Coast Park.
Speaking about these plans in his maiden National Day Rally speech on Aug 18, PM Wong said these major investments “will take decades to bear fruit”, as did plans to reclaim and develop Marina Bay, which began right after Singapore gained independence in 1965.
“Starting now, we can lay the foundations for a better Singapore in the decades to come,” the Prime Minister said during the rally, which is seen as the most significant political speech of the year.
The continuous 120km coastline, which also covers the waterfronts of Sentosa and Brani islands, will be made accessible through waterfront promenades and parks, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a statement.
On plans to remake the city centre, PM Wong noted that three water bodies – Marina Bay, Marina Channel and Kallang Basin – form a “continuous waterfront in the heart of our city”.
Speaking from ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio, he highlighted five residential and mixed-use waterfront precincts to be developed near these water bodies.
Of the five, Nicoll and Marina East are yet to be developed. Plans for Kampong Bugis and Marina South were announced earlier, and Tanjong Rhu has existing homes with new flats in the works.
Noting that Nicoll and Kampong Bugis are near historic districts, PM Wong said the two precincts will have new residential and recreational uses, so that “a new generation of Singaporeans can realise their ideas for our ever-evolving city”.
URA said detailed plans for the Nicoll precinct, which spans about 59ha, are being studied in conjunction with the future Bay Central Garden. Together, the Bay Central, Bay South and Bay East gardens form Gardens by the Bay.
PM Wong said the authorities will build a pedestrian bridge to link Bay South Garden with Bay East Garden and the Founders’ Memorial, which is slated to open in 2028.
Bay East Garden and the Founders’ Memorial are in the 150ha Marina East, which will become a mainly residential precinct with a mix of housing options, said URA.
Sports, recreational and healthcare facilities as well as schools and parks will be included in the precinct, for which detailed development plans are being studied, said the agency.
Marina East and the 45ha Marina South, where development is already under way, can be sustainable and car-lite with cycling networks and pedestrian-friendly streets, said PM Wong. Marina South will have more than 10,000 homes.
Detailed development plans are also under study for Kampong Bugis, a future 17.4ha housing precinct that was set to have 4,000 private homes but was removed from URA’s list of Government Land Sales sites in 2022 due to delays in soil remediation works.
Soil treatment was needed as chemicals typically found in land used for gas production were found on the site, which previously housed Kallang Gasworks.
Over in the 88ha Tanjong Rhu, new homes are also being added to the more than 5,000 existing ones there. The Tanjong Rhu Riverfront I and II Build-To-Order projects launched in June are the first public housing projects there in 60 years.
URA chief executive Lim Eng Hwee told The Straits Times earlier that Singapore’s two cruise terminals, in HarbourFront and Marina South, will be consolidated as part of plans to “stitch up the entire waterfront”. The Singapore Cruise Centre in HarbourFront is set to move, while the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore was in 2018 reported to be under consideration for expansion.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now