Pulau Tekong to get extra land the size of two Toa Payoh towns using new reclamation method
Extra land to be used for military training will free up space on main island for other uses
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 17 Nov 2016
A plot of land the size of two Toa Payoh towns will be added to the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong using a land reclamation method that is new to Singapore.
The 810ha space, to be used for military training, will be created by empoldering - a method which involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it.
Compared with the traditional technique of filling a water body with sand, this method is expected to cut construction costs and the amount of sand required, and could be used for other projects in future.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told reporters during a site visit yesterday that Singapore is "always in need of more land".
"This particular expansion, it's going to be used for Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) training. But the needs for land continue to grow, whether it's for military, for housing, for commercial uses," he added. "We are always looking at options to expand. And by expanding Tekong, providing SAF with more space for their training needs, which are growing, we can free up land on the main Singapore island for other developmental purposes."
Singapore has been studying the empoldering method for some time, he said. It has visited the Netherlands, where the practice is prevalent, and consulted experts from the country. The technique will create a low-lying tract of land, known as a polder, about 1.2m below sea level.
Extra land to be used for military training will free up space on main island for other uses
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 17 Nov 2016
A plot of land the size of two Toa Payoh towns will be added to the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong using a land reclamation method that is new to Singapore.
The 810ha space, to be used for military training, will be created by empoldering - a method which involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it.
Compared with the traditional technique of filling a water body with sand, this method is expected to cut construction costs and the amount of sand required, and could be used for other projects in future.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told reporters during a site visit yesterday that Singapore is "always in need of more land".
"This particular expansion, it's going to be used for Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) training. But the needs for land continue to grow, whether it's for military, for housing, for commercial uses," he added. "We are always looking at options to expand. And by expanding Tekong, providing SAF with more space for their training needs, which are growing, we can free up land on the main Singapore island for other developmental purposes."
Singapore has been studying the empoldering method for some time, he said. It has visited the Netherlands, where the practice is prevalent, and consulted experts from the country. The technique will create a low-lying tract of land, known as a polder, about 1.2m below sea level.
Water levels in the polder will be controlled by drains and pumps, and a 10km-long dyke standing about 6m above sea level will buffer the reclaimed area from the sea.
"This is really a project not just about expanding our physical space but also about building up capabilities and making ourselves a more resilient nation in the longer term," Mr Wong said, referring to challenges such as disruptions in Singapore's sand supply and rising sea levels due to climate change.
"The experience that we gain in learning how to build dykes, in learning how to manage coastal areas, this will be very important for us as we deal with the threat of climate change in the longer term."
Mr Wong said empoldering is expected to lead to "significant" cost and sand savings, but did not reveal any figures. He added that he would "not rule out" adopting empoldering for future reclamation works here."The experience that we gain in learning how to build dykes, in learning how to manage coastal areas, this will be very important for us as we deal with the threat of climate change in the longer term."
The Housing Board, the appointed agent for the project, will call for tenders by the end of this year. Construction will commence at the end of next year, and the reclamation is slated for completion around 2022.
Thereafter, the Defence Ministry will maintain the polder plot, while the drainage system, dyke, water pumping stations and canals will be maintained by national water agency PUB. The land will also come with 21km of roads - the length of East Coast Parkway - and 29km of drains.
HDB said an environmental study carried out found the polder's impact on surrounding marine life and the environment would be "minimal". Surrounding areas with mangroves and other plant life will be conserved and protected.
HDB said an environmental study carried out found the polder's impact on surrounding marine life and the environment would be "minimal". Surrounding areas with mangroves and other plant life will be conserved and protected.
Dutch experts give advice on Tekong land reclamation
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 17 Nov 2016
A popular tale by American author Mary Mapes Dodge tells of a Dutch boy who saves his country by putting his finger in the hole of a leaking dyke. The Dutch have had a long history with dykes - embankment barriers - given how the Netherlands is prone to flooding.
It may come as little surprise then that Singapore's latest land reclamation venture on Pulau Tekong, which will use a 10km-long dyke, is being done in consultation with Dutch experts.
To ensure that the project is cost- effective, safe and environmentally sensitive, Singapore is working closely with Professor Kees d'Angremond from the Netherlands, a longtime adviser to the Republic on reclamation. He is also an authority on polder development - the reclamation method that will be used to create 810ha of extra land on the offshore island.
This involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it. It will result in a low-lying tract of land, known as a polder, that is buffered from the sea by the dyke. Water levels in the polder are then controlled by a network of drains and pumps.
While polders may be new to Singapore, Prof d'Angremond said they have been built in the Netherlands for the past 2,000 years. These polders started out as primitive ones built by farmers who wanted to protect their land against flooding, and were often a matter of trial and error, he said.
With modern technology today, safety of the polders is ensured using advanced methods. These include the building of strong dykes to ensure water does not flow in, determining the dyke's height in relation to expected sea levels and wave action, and having a grass cover on the inner dyke slope to ensure it does not erode, Prof d'Angremond said.
A stone revetment, similar to a sea wall, will protect the dyke from the sea waves, said the Housing Board, the reclamation project's appointed agent. Meanwhile, either a cement bentonite screen or a diaphragm wall will minimise the seepage of sea water through the dyke.
The professor acknowledged that Singapore has "more severe" rain than the Netherlands, which might make draining water from the polder more challenging. But he said that this could be solved with a proper pumping system.
He added: "We will do a lot of research in polders together to see whether we can make further improvements that are really dedicated to the conditions in Singapore."
Building expertise for land reclamation
Editorial, The Straits Times, 30 Nov 2016
Dyke construction and coastal management will play an essential role in the evolution of Singapore's land reclamation efforts. This is to be expected as the effects of rising sea levels, a consequence of climate change, will be felt on islands and littoral states in general. Thus, it is useful to gain experience in the use of seawalls for reclamation when a plot of land, the size of two Toa Payoh towns, is added to the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong - a method that is novel here.
The development of Pulau Tekong was forecast in the Land Use Plan of 2013. Reclamation, chiefly around Tuas and Tekong, was cited then as a key plank of Singapore's attempts to accommodate a larger population by 2030. Works around those areas would increase the country's land area by some 5,200ha by 2030. That expansion is equivalent to nine Ang Mo Kio towns. The scale indicates the level at which Singapore has to peg its efforts to overcome land constraints if it is to provide a quality of life in the future commensurate with what it offers now. The building of new towns and the redevelopment of golf courses will complement reclamation efforts. Given that the plan's target date is only 14 years away, it is imperative to begin work well on time so that the reclamation process is sustainable. Tekong's expansion is for Singapore Armed Forces training, but it also will free up land on the mainland for housing and other developments.
Technological advances are making a crucial contribution to reclamation efforts. Pulau Tekong will benefit from empoldering, a method that involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it. This will be an improvement on the traditional technique of filling a water body with sand, because it could lower construction costs and will decrease the amount of sand required. The latter advantage is a substantial one since dependence on sand imports, which is subject to various constraints, could have narrowed Singapore's room for manoeuvre on reclamation one day. The use of the Dutch empoldering method offers a way to create space more viably.
A larger issue is the steps which Singapore has to take to deal with rising sea levels, as climate change is irreversible. Dykes and flood-control measures will need to become habitual for the population of an island city-state whose only ecological hinterland is what is produced by its expertise, ingenuity and determination. Here, there is a lesson to be learnt from the Dutch, who have built polders for the past 2,000 years. These have evolved, through trial and error, from primitive forms into their modern incarnation as a part of the Netherlands' environmental security. Singapore would do well to continually study best practices elsewhere to shore up its own ecological defences.
By Yeo Sam Jo, The Straits Times, 17 Nov 2016
It may come as little surprise then that Singapore's latest land reclamation venture on Pulau Tekong, which will use a 10km-long dyke, is being done in consultation with Dutch experts.
To ensure that the project is cost- effective, safe and environmentally sensitive, Singapore is working closely with Professor Kees d'Angremond from the Netherlands, a longtime adviser to the Republic on reclamation. He is also an authority on polder development - the reclamation method that will be used to create 810ha of extra land on the offshore island.
This involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it. It will result in a low-lying tract of land, known as a polder, that is buffered from the sea by the dyke. Water levels in the polder are then controlled by a network of drains and pumps.
While polders may be new to Singapore, Prof d'Angremond said they have been built in the Netherlands for the past 2,000 years. These polders started out as primitive ones built by farmers who wanted to protect their land against flooding, and were often a matter of trial and error, he said.
With modern technology today, safety of the polders is ensured using advanced methods. These include the building of strong dykes to ensure water does not flow in, determining the dyke's height in relation to expected sea levels and wave action, and having a grass cover on the inner dyke slope to ensure it does not erode, Prof d'Angremond said.
A stone revetment, similar to a sea wall, will protect the dyke from the sea waves, said the Housing Board, the reclamation project's appointed agent. Meanwhile, either a cement bentonite screen or a diaphragm wall will minimise the seepage of sea water through the dyke.
The professor acknowledged that Singapore has "more severe" rain than the Netherlands, which might make draining water from the polder more challenging. But he said that this could be solved with a proper pumping system.
He added: "We will do a lot of research in polders together to see whether we can make further improvements that are really dedicated to the conditions in Singapore."
Building expertise for land reclamation
Editorial, The Straits Times, 30 Nov 2016
Dyke construction and coastal management will play an essential role in the evolution of Singapore's land reclamation efforts. This is to be expected as the effects of rising sea levels, a consequence of climate change, will be felt on islands and littoral states in general. Thus, it is useful to gain experience in the use of seawalls for reclamation when a plot of land, the size of two Toa Payoh towns, is added to the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong - a method that is novel here.
The development of Pulau Tekong was forecast in the Land Use Plan of 2013. Reclamation, chiefly around Tuas and Tekong, was cited then as a key plank of Singapore's attempts to accommodate a larger population by 2030. Works around those areas would increase the country's land area by some 5,200ha by 2030. That expansion is equivalent to nine Ang Mo Kio towns. The scale indicates the level at which Singapore has to peg its efforts to overcome land constraints if it is to provide a quality of life in the future commensurate with what it offers now. The building of new towns and the redevelopment of golf courses will complement reclamation efforts. Given that the plan's target date is only 14 years away, it is imperative to begin work well on time so that the reclamation process is sustainable. Tekong's expansion is for Singapore Armed Forces training, but it also will free up land on the mainland for housing and other developments.
Technological advances are making a crucial contribution to reclamation efforts. Pulau Tekong will benefit from empoldering, a method that involves building a dyke around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it. This will be an improvement on the traditional technique of filling a water body with sand, because it could lower construction costs and will decrease the amount of sand required. The latter advantage is a substantial one since dependence on sand imports, which is subject to various constraints, could have narrowed Singapore's room for manoeuvre on reclamation one day. The use of the Dutch empoldering method offers a way to create space more viably.
A larger issue is the steps which Singapore has to take to deal with rising sea levels, as climate change is irreversible. Dykes and flood-control measures will need to become habitual for the population of an island city-state whose only ecological hinterland is what is produced by its expertise, ingenuity and determination. Here, there is a lesson to be learnt from the Dutch, who have built polders for the past 2,000 years. These have evolved, through trial and error, from primitive forms into their modern incarnation as a part of the Netherlands' environmental security. Singapore would do well to continually study best practices elsewhere to shore up its own ecological defences.
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* Pulau Tekong polder project more than halfway complete, to finish by end-2024
By Syarafana Shafeeq, The Straits Times, 17 Apr 2022
A project to build a polder in Pulau Tekong to protect the island from rising sea levels is more than halfway complete, said Minister for National Development Desmond Lee in a Facebook post on Sunday (April 17).
A polder is a low-lying tract of land protected from the sea by structures known as dikes.
Mr Lee said the perimeter of the polder has been set in place and the construction of the dike wall is ongoing.
The minister, who visited the project in Pulau Tekong last week, said that most of the low-lying polder land has been created and soil improvement works are currently being carried out to strengthen the ground.
Infrastructure works have also started to prepare for the construction of key facilities such as pumping stations and electrical substations.
The project, a first in Singapore, was announced in 2016 by the Housing Board and the Ministry of National Development.
Said Mr Lee: "The team has been working hard over the last few years, and like all other projects, Covid-19 posed challenges to the polder project too."
He added that the project will be complete around the end of 2024.
"As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared at the National Day Rally 2019, the polder project at Pulau Tekong will allow us to gain experience in developing polders, which could be an option for coastal protection and resilience against sea-level rise.
"We have partnered closely with the Dutch to design and construct the polder - drawing on their vast experience and adapting it to Singapore's tropical context," said Mr Lee.
The Dutch have been honing their land reclamation technology and using polders since the 14th century.
The early days of land reclamation in the Netherlands saw huge areas of forests cleared, resulting in negative environmental outcomes and biodiversity loss.
Empoldering, on the other hand, substantially reduces the amount of sand needed to fill up the new land, reaping savings on upfront construction costs.
Mr Lee mentioned in his Facebook post that significant parts of Singapore are 4m or less above mean sea level and are at risk when sea levels rise due to climate change.
A report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, co-authored by more than 200 scientists from 66 countries including Singapore, said that sea levels may rise by about 0.2m by 2050.
** Plot twice the size of Toa Payoh reclaimed off Pulau Tekong in Singapore’s first polder project
Land is slated for military training, freeing up mainland space for other uses
By Ang Qing, The Straits Times, 8 Sep 2025
A plot of land the size of about two Toa Payoh towns has been reclaimed off Pulau Tekong, the Government announced on Sept 8.
This marks the first time that Singapore has reclaimed land below the average sea level.
The plot, measuring around 800ha, was reclaimed at the north-western tip of Pulau Tekong, Singapore’s largest offshore island where many national service recruits are initiated into army life.
The reclaimed land is slated for military training purposes.
This frees up space on the mainland for other uses such as developing new homes and amenities for Singaporeans, said HDB and national water agency PUB in a joint statement.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong visited the site on Sept 8 to view the polder.
It marked a full circle for PM Wong, who had first unveiled the project in 2016 when he was Minister for National Development.
The reclamation was conducted using a method called empoldering, and main construction works for the land and its infrastructure were completed in end-2024.
The works involved building a coastal dyke – standing 6m at its highest point – around the area to be reclaimed and draining water from it, creating a low-lying tract of land below sea level called a polder.
The Tekong polder lies about 1.2m below mean sea level.
Climate projections show that sea levels around Singapore could rise by up to 5m by 2100.
The authorities said the height of the coastal dyke can be raised if needed, to adapt to future increases in sea levels.
With more intense rainfall wrought by climate change, water levels in the polder are managed by a 45km-long drainage network that prevents flooding and water from stagnating.
The network comprises two pumping stations, drains and a 116ha storm water collection pond, which is designed to hold enough water to fill 2,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
During heavy rain, the pump has the capacity to empty an Olympic-size swimming pool’s worth of water in less than three minutes.
This is the first time that empoldering has been used in Singapore.
Land is traditionally reclaimed by enclosing an area and dumping materials, primarily composed of sand, to create new land.
The authorities said reclaiming land through empoldering has cut the amount of sand needed by almost half, compared with the conventional method.
This has made empoldering an attractive option for the Republic, which is reclaiming more land and beefing up its coastal protection as sea levels rise.
The amount of sand used for the project was further reduced by repurposing clayey soil dredged from the construction of the polder’s storm water collection pond.
This amounted to more than 10 million cubic m, or enough to fill about 4,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, the authorities said.
PUB senior principal engineer Thomas Pang said the agency has put in place a fully automated system, with over 170 CCTV cameras and more than 260 sensors installed across the polder to monitor the coastal dyke.
These artificial eyes on the ground help to verify faults flagged by the system, and detect the water quality and water levels in the drainage network.
“This enables real-time remote operations from the polder’s control centre and PUB’s joint operations centre on mainland Singapore,” said Mr Pang.
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, the authorities said final testing and commissioning works are still being conducted for some project infrastructure, including its telecommunications services.
Once these works are completed later in 2025, the reclamation project undertaken by HDB will be handed over to PUB and the Ministry of Defence.
In designing the coastal dyke, the Government said it worked closely with the Dutch – who have relied on empoldering for centuries to carve out new land – to adapt the technology for Singapore’s context.
Although the Republic experiences milder coastal and wave conditions, rainfall is typically more intense, the agencies added.
Hence, the polder’s drainage system and pumping stations were catered for Singapore’s tropical climate.
On the future of empoldering in Singapore, the authorities said the experience gained from operating and maintaining the Tekong polder will guide their review of the method’s viability for future land reclamation projects.
“As this is Singapore’s first polder, the cost of operating and maintaining the coastal dyke and water management system can only be determined after operating it for a period of time,” said HDB and PUB. This comes as sand, a key ingredient of land reclamation, is prone to export bans.
For instance, in 2017, Cambodia permanently banned all sand exports on environmental grounds. The following year, Malaysia revived a ban on selling sea sand to other countries, citing similar reasons.
Responding to Malaysia’s ban, Singapore’s Ministry of National Development said then that the Republic has been encouraging its industries to reduce reliance on sand.
Addressing the Tekong polder’s environmental impacts, HDB said it had tasked an independent consultant to study the project’s effects and minimise damage.
Prior to the polder’s construction, NUS’ Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and nature groups and initiatives such as WildSingapore and TeamSeaGrass were also approached for feedback on planned measures to limit the environmental impact.
Taking in their feedback and the National Parks Board’s input, arborists identified and transplanted endangered plant species to other places like Pulau Ubin.
HDB said surveys of nearby habitats showed that there were no significant changes to these habitats before and after construction of the land reclamation project.
They cited how similar species of flora and fauna such as sea grapes, sea stars and sea sponges continue to be observed in the area.
Singapore uses land reclamation as a tool in its arsenal against climate change.
Almost a third of the country rests just 5m above sea level, making these areas vulnerable to being flooded by rising sea levels in 2100, when combined with extreme events such as high tides and storm surges.
At Budget 2025, it was announced that Singapore’s Coastal and Flood Protection Fund – to safeguard the country from rising seas and floods – will receive a $5 billion injection.
Currently, there are three ongoing site-specific studies, with plans to start two new studies at Singapore’s south-west coast and Sentosa by 2026.
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