SINGAPORE - A bridge to connect Bay South and Bay East is being studied as part of plans by Gardens by the Bay to develop the Bay East Garden, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee.

Currently, visitors get to Bay East from the Marina Barrage.

The idea for the bridge comes amid Bay East Garden being developed into a waterfront garden, alongside the construction of Founders’ Memorial, Mr Lee said at Gardens by the Bay’s 10th anniversary celebration on Wednesday.

“(The bridge) will enable visitors to enjoy what our two gardens have on offer,” he said.

Gardens by the Bay chief executive Felix Loh said a tender will be called towards the end of the year for the bridge’s design.

“When the Bay East Garden opens in 2027, it will be an exciting place. We think that having a bridge (between Bay South and Bay East) would enhance the value of these iconic attractions,” he said, noting that the bridge’s exact location is still being discussed.

The feasibility of a second renewable energy plant in Gardens by the Bay is also being explored as part of its carbon reduction road map to achieve net-zero emissions.

The road map will be ready in 2023.

“This second plant could potentially open up to visitors, such as through an educational component on the importance of sustainability,” said Mr Lee.

Gardens by the Bay is fitting more solar panels on its existing structures, and this could provide electricity equivalent to the annual energy consumption of about 2,300 four-room HDB flats, he added.

Complimentary one-year Friends of the Gardens membership will be offered to lower-income families under an initiative by the Ministry of Social and Family Development, said Mr Lee. It will let them visit the Gardens for free. For a start, they will be given to those living in Kreta Ayer and Bukit Merah from January 2023.

“This will allow them to enjoy unlimited visits to the Flower Dome (conservatory) with their loved ones and be part of the Gardens’ 10th birthday celebrations.”

Mr Lee said the Covid-19 pandemic showed the importance of having green spaces, with Gardens by the Bay attracting 8.3 million resident visitors in 2021, its highest local visitorship.

“I am happy that Gardens by the Bay has embarked on new initiatives to bring the Gardens even closer to people from all walks of life,” he added.

Gardens by the Bay will also have free nature and sustainability tours for local residents every weekend in December, in a push to promote sustainability in the community.

Mr Lee said: “These tours will showcase sustainable design and biodiversity conservation efforts, such as at its Kingfisher Wetlands.”

At Wednesday’s event, President Halimah Yacob and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong planted a raintree – its sapling taken from a raintree planted by Singapore’s founding prime minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, in 1986.

Mr Desmond Lee and former National Development ministers Khaw Boon Wan and Mah Bow Tan also planted yellow raintrees on Wednesday.