PUB to kick off coastal protection strategy with City-East Coast study

SINGAPORE'S national water agency PUB on Tuesday said it will commence a site-specific study along the City-East Coast.

This marks the first of a series of planned studies for different areas of the nation's coastline, as part of longer-term coastal protection plans.

Some 57.8km of the coastline across three areas - Changi, the East Coast-Marina stretch, and part of the Greater Southern Waterfront district - will be covered by the study.

The coastline area had been identified to be "more vulnerable and critical", said PUB in a press statement. Factors considered in determining this include the potential impact of a flood event, criticality of assets, and opportunities to dovetail with upcoming developments.

The study is estimated to take about four years to complete. Through it, PUB intends to explore possible solutions to protect City-East Coast from the threat of rising seas caused by climate change.

This will include work such as literature reviews, collecting site data to support design works, formulating adaptation measures and pathways, and developing the designs of solutions to mitigate flood risks.

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The City-East Coast study will be undertaken by CPG Consultants Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of CPG Corporation. The firm was appointed following an open tender exercise in 2020.

Hazel Khoo, director of the agency's coastal protection department, considers the study an opportunity to explore how to better integrate with local development and land-use plans.

"This will allow us to potentially enhance the living environment and create new recreational spaces with multi-functional uses for the community like what was done at Marina Reservoir," she said.

"When PUB was appointed national coastal protection agency in April 2020, this study was earmarked as a significant milestone in our mission to prepare Singapore for the impacts of sea-level rise. But this is just the beginning - the real challenge is to develop solutions that are flexible and adaptive to climate change uncertainties, to safeguard our island and people from flooding risks while ensuring our coastlines remain liveable."

Going forward, PUB intends to adopt a phased approach to progressively roll out studies and develop protection measures for the respective segments of the coastline.

Studies to protect Jurong Island and the North-West coast, comprising Sungei Kadut and Lim Chu Kang, will commence later this year and in 2022, respectively.

The utilities board said it has also formed a coastal protection expert panel to share international best practices and planning considerations, as well as provide advice that will allow PUB to build new capabilities and aid in its overall planning efforts.