Bills on use of underground space tabled
Singapore
THE government wants to make it easier to facilitate the planning and development of underground spaces in Singapore over the long term.
On Thursday, Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah introduced two Bills - the State Lands (Amendment) Bill and the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill.
The first will provide greater clarity on the depth of underground space a landowner can make use of. Currently, the laws are vague in that a landowner is allowed to use and develop an underground space only up to a depth that is "reasonably necessary".
The proposed amendment to the State Lands Act will specify that a person owns that underground space up to a maximum of 30 m below the Singapore Height Datum (SHD), unless stated otherwise in the state title.
The SHD, a level fixed across Singapore from which height measurements take reference, is pegged to the country's historical mean sea level.
The Law Ministry said in a statement that this amendment would not affect how landowners now use and develop underground space; they will continue to own all the space that they require.
The basements of developments in Singapore typically extend to about 15 m underground, or about two to three storeys down.
As for the Land Acquisition Act, the government is looking to amend this law to carry out the development of public projects that require only a specific stratum of space.
Both amendment Bills will be debated at a future Parliament sitting - likely to be after the Budget debate - before the House votes on whether to pass them into law.
It was back in September 2013 when National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan first spoke of the government's intent to develop an "underground equivalent" of the Master Plan.
The Master Plan, which is reviewed every five years, is the statutory land-use plan that guides Singapore's development in the medium term, that is, over the next 10 to 15 years.
Mr Khaw said then that the government would look at how such practical underground plans could complement the above-ground Master Plan to make Singapore "even more exciting and liveable".
The government has embarked on large-scale underground projects over the years. Last year, the Jurong Rock Caverns - South-east Asia's first underground oil-storage facility that goes 130 m beneath the Banyan Basin on Jurong Island - was officially opened.
In 2008, the Singapore Armed Forces opened the Underground Ammunition Facility to store the military's munitions and explosives.
The Ministry of National Development is expected to announce more plans for underground development at a later date.
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