Land reclamation plan to create 800-ha ‘Long Island’ along Singapore’s east coast

SINGAPORE will embark on a land reclamation project to create a “Long Island” on the eastern coast of Singapore, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced on Tuesday (Nov 28). 

The project will involve the reclamation of three new tracts of land, set at a higher level, away from the current coastline. It will stretch from Marina East to Tanah Merah and is expected to span around 800 ha – double the size of the Marina Bay area. 

This will also create an enclosed water body, which will over time become a new freshwater reservoir, he said.

The project is part of the government’s plans to create more land and optimise Singapore’s resources to meet the needs of future generations, Lee said. “They could build homes (on the reclaimed Long Island), create jobs, develop services and amenities.”

Long Island will also strengthen the country’s water resilience while protecting the country from rising sea levels, he noted.

Land reclamation has long been Singapore’s key strategy to increase its usable land area. In the past 60 years, the space-scarce country has expanded by nearly 25 per cent, from 581.5 square kilometres (sq km) in 1960 to 725.7 sq km in 2019.

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The Marine Parade estate was one of the first built entirely on reclaimed land. Today, the estate sits on a total land size of 185 ha. According to the 2020 population census, it is home to 46,220 residents. As at March 2018, there are 7,862 public housing flats within the estate.

Besides standing at a higher elevation, Long Island will include two large tidal gates and pumping stations to prevent flooding in the eastern coast. These structures will be set “much further away” from existing residential and recreation areas, Lee said.

The new reservoir – Singapore’s 18th – will boost the country’s water supply, Lee noted. The public can also use it for water activities such as canoeing and dragon-boating, he said.

Around 20 km of new coastal and reservoir parks will be added, extending from the current East Coast Park and tripling the length of the existing waterfront area along the park, he said.

The project will take the next few decades to plan and implement. Detailed technical studies will begin soon and will take around five years to complete. This includes “extensive” engineering and environmental studies, as well as soil investigation works, to see if the conceptual reclamation profile is feasible, said Lee. These studies will also help the government formulate “innovative and cost-effective nature-based solutions” to reclaim and develop Long Island.

The government will hold consultations with residents and stakeholders to gather feedback and ideas.

Long Island was first envisioned as a reclaimed island, stretching from Marina East to Changi, for beachfront housing and leisure in Singapore’s 1991 Concept Plan.

This was revisited in 2019. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally speech that Singapore would need to spend around S$100 billion or more over a century to protect itself from rising sea levels as the threat of climate change intensifies, with strategies including land reclamation. 

Long Island was again explored at the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s long-term plan review exhibition, unveiled in June 2022, as one of the ideas being studied for coastal protection.  

Hunger for land

The Population White Paper, released in 2013, outlined the government’s plans to further increase Singapore’s land mass to 766 sq km by 2030 to accommodate a larger projected population. It featured plans for land reclamation beyond 2030, including in Marina East, Changi East, Sungei Kadut and around the Western Islands. 

Work on the Marine Parade housing estate began in 1966. Some 20,000 cubic metres of earth – taken from hills at Bedok and Siglap – moved via conveyor belt to the sea each day. Sand was also sourced from abroad. By 1970, around 405 ha of land was added to the coastline. 

Some 15 years later, 1,525 ha of land was added to the coastline, expanding it by around 18 km. It cost the government S$613 million then.

The cost of land reclamation projects completed in the past decade now ranges from around S$270 to S$850 per sq m, Lee said in a written response to a parliamentary question in January this year. “(The cost) varies across projects, depending on the nature of the project, and prevailing costs for materials and manpower.”