Pulau Tekong polder project more than halfway complete, to finish by end-2024
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The project, a first in Singapore, was announced in 2016 by the Housing Board and the Ministry of National Development.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK/ DESMOND LEE
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE - 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.
