Finding space to accommodate an additional one million people by 2030 should be a piece of cake for many countries. However, for Singapore it is Herculean task. Only four countries in the world have a population density greater than 5000 people per sq km: Macau, Monaco, Singapore and Hong Kong. Singapore is unique among them, as it has no hinterland.

The HDB has done an incredible job housing 80% of the population. Tributes are also due to URA, JTC, MEWR, LTA, NParks and SLA. In spite of the high population density, the city is orderly and highly liveable. The roads rarely grid locked, the reliability of electricity and water supply are among the best in the world. Other infrastructures like telecommunications and public transport systems are decidedly commendable.

However, we are about to squeeze the lemon dry. We need new tools to create more space.

We have reclaimed land, build skyscrapers for homes and offices, and bored tunnels for roads and trains, caverns for strategic commodities. We raze middle-age buildings so we may build higher ones on the same plot of land. Note that each time we demolish a building, the replacement building carries the cost of the old one including the cost of the demolishment.

We have tried everything but one: the use of floating platforms. This is a disruptive technology, which will take us thorough the point of inflexion on an upward trend. It provides floating “land” instead of reclaimed land. The floating modules may be coupled rigidly or non-rigidly to form larger platforms after launching. A float could easily support a 20-storey apartment. It could also be large enough to support the Burj Khalifa. A leading Japanese contractor, Shimizu, has an offer for sale to deliver a 1000-meter high residential tower floating on a 3000-meter diameter floating foundation.

Moving masses of people to live on floating tower will come about one day. There is a quicker way to create space for development, which is psychologically less challenging. Here are some:

1. A huge chunk of our land is used for storing water. Water however can be stored in floating reservoirs, which can double up as recreation parks.
2. Golf courses takes large areas of land but is used only by a small section of the community. Floating golf courses have water all around it so they can double up as marina as well.
3. Power plants and gas storage tanks are more logically located offshore than onshore for a number of reasons. LNG carriers need not come near shore to discharge their cargo. This reduces marine traffic in our territorial water as well as risks associated with the storage of natural gas. The LCOE of the plant will improve because the plant sits on top of an infinite heat sink.
4. Since 80% of the container boxes unloaded in Singapore are awaiting to be reloaded on another ship, it would make sense for an offshore transfer terminal located just within our territorial waters. One such floating transfer terminal was in fact proposed at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Known as LIGTT, the plan was to have 900-hectare site with deep-water berths.
5. Navy and Air Force facilities are also better located in our southern territorial waters. Our naval bases could double up as naval fortresses guarding against enemy intrusions, stopping the aggressor before they enter our waters.
6. All the shipyards in Jurong and Tuas are on average 40 years old. The water front land they occupy can be put to use to produce higher value services. The same applies to logistic bases. Gigantic floating docks and floating cranes are already a fact of life. All workshops and quays can be developed on floating platforms.
7. Data Centres have large footprint and are also very energy intensive due to the huge heat load that it generates. Floating data centres would benefit from being sitting on a floating platform and dumping their heat into the sea.

The above are just some examples of the land intensive assets may be moved offshore and the land they vacate be repurposed and rejuvenated. More detailed description of some of these ideas are discussed elsewhere in this portal under the heading Novel Floating Solutions.

It is quite possible through such disruptive strategy to find 56 sq km of floating “land” by 2030 at highly attractive cost without having to import sand and damage our coastal ecology.

Lim Soon Heng

5 May 2018