The following is a approximate translation of an article which appeared in Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao on 18 August 2019. The translation was kindly provided by The HEAD Foundation.

As is common with many interviews some parts of the article are not accurately reported but there is no serious misquotes.

海平面升高 土地不够用 打造海上浮城是否可行？

The sea level is rising. The land is not enough. Is it feasible to build a floating city at sea?

 

荷兰港口城市鹿特丹有世界首个浮动农场，设施的电力全由浮动太阳能板生成，水源则从收集到的雨水过滤而得，因此比起在陆地上碳足迹大幅减少。（Floating Farm网站）

The Dutch port city of Rotterdam has the world’s first floating farm. The power of the facility is generated by floating solar panels, and the water source is filtered from the collected rainwater, so the carbon footprint is significantly reduced compared to the land.  (Floating Farm website)

 

实况报道

Fact Report

 

新加坡将在未来50年面临海平面上升及气温升高等气候变化带来的生存威胁。李显龙总理将在今晚举行的国庆群众大会演讲中，探讨我国应如何应对气候变化问题。

Singapore will face the threat of survival from climate change such as rising sea levels and rising temperatures in the next 50 years. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will discuss how Singapore should cope with climate change in its speech at the National Day Mass Conference tonight.

 

环境及水源部长马善高上月宣布了应对气候变化的数项措施，并强调不能单靠政府措施，还促请公众从个人层面做出改变，“不要忽视聚沙成塔的累积效应”。

Masagos, Minister of Environment and Water Resources, announced several measures to combat climate change last month, stressing that government measures cannot be relied on alone, and that the public is urged to make changes at the individual level. “Do not ignore the cumulative effects of gathering sand into towers”.

 

本期《实况报道》访问环保倡导者、非政府组织及企业，了解他们如何做出自身贡献，以实际行动应对气候变化，共同为资源日渐枯竭的地球尽一分力。

This “Fact Report” interviews environmental advocates, NGOs and companies to understand how they contribute, to take action to address climate change, and to contribute to the planet’s depleting resources.

 

新加坡人口密集，土地匮乏，三分之一地区高出平均海平面不到五米，为扩展用地建立“海上浮城”的想法在许多人看来是异想天开，不过在新加坡浮动解决方案学会主席林顺兴（75岁）眼中，这正是我国未来可持续发展的可能之一。

Singapore is densely populated and lacks land. One-third of the region is less than five meters above average sea level. The idea of ​​establishing a “floating city at sea” for expanding land is whimsical to many people, but Mr Lim Soon Heng (75 years old), chairman of the Singapore Floating Solutions Society, views this as one of the possibilities for sustainable development in the future of our country.

 

国人最熟悉的超大型浮动结构或许是滨海湾浮动舞台。曾任吉宝船厂总经理的林顺兴介绍，利用海洋扩大活动范围绝非打破传统的另类创想。例如，全球各地为钻井平台工人打造的水上住宿（floatels）已相当普遍；日本建设了1000米长的试验性机场跑道；荷兰港口城市鹿特丹有世界首个浮动农场，设施的电力全由浮动太阳能板生成，水源则从收集到的雨水过滤而得，因此比起在陆地上碳足迹大幅减少。

Perhaps the most familiar floating structure of the Nation is the floating stage of the Marina Bay. Mr Lim, formerly the general manager of the Keppel Shipyard, said that it is not a totally new idea to expand human’s activities on a floating structure at sea. For example, floating accommodations for rig workers around the world are quite common. Japan has built a 1,000-meter-long experimental floating airport runway. The Dutch port city of Rotterdam has the world’s first floating farm, and the facilities are powered by floating solar panels. In those farms, water source is filtered from the collected rainwater, so the carbon footprint is significantly reduced compared to land.

 

林顺兴提倡的“海上浮城”，倒不是让国人迁居海上，“这在社会交往上并不可行”，而是将一些位于本岛的基础设施转移到南部海域的浮动平台，例如港口、发电厂、海水淡化厂等。他笑说：“就连高尔夫球场也能移到海上来，省下我国珍贵的土地空间。”

The “floating city at sea” advocated by Mr Lim does not mean that people have to live on the sea. “This is not feasible for social exchanges.” It is to move some of the infrastructure on the island to the floating platforms in the southern waters, such as ports, power plants, and sea water desalination plants, etc. He laughed and said: “Even the golf course can be moved to the sea to save precious land.”

 

作为新加坡大学（新加坡国立大学前身）工程系首批毕业生，林顺兴兼具海事与土地工程背景，从2012年开始研究并倡导我国采用超大型浮动结构。他日前受访时耐心解释相关概念，“你坐过大型游轮出海吗？站在超大型浮动平台上，感觉就像在游轮上一样平稳。”

As the first batch graduate from the Engineering Department of the University of Singapore (predecessor of the National University of Singapore), Mr Lim has both maritime and land engineering background. Since 2012, he has been researching and advocating the use of ultra-large floating structures in Singapore. When he was interviewed a few days ago, he patiently explained the concept. “Have you ever travelled by a large cruise ship to the sea? Standing on a very large floating platform, it feels as smooth as on a cruise ship.”

 

林顺兴认为，海上建筑既有效减少碳排放，遏制气候恶化，也能应对海平面上升的问题。

Mr Lim believes that offshore construction can effectively reduce carbon emissions, curb climate deterioration, and cope with rising sea levels.

 

到2021年，我国计划在登格蓄水池启用面积约45个足球场的本地首个大型浮动太阳能光伏系统，预计可满足公用事业局7％的能源需求，每年减少2万8000公吨碳排放。

By 2021, Singapore plans to launch the first large-scale floating solar photovoltaic system in the Tengeh Reservoir with an area of ​​about 45 football fields. It is expected to meet the energy demand of the Public Utilities Bureau by 7% and reduce carbon emissions by 28,000 metric tons per year.

 

林顺兴表示，新加坡单靠清洁能源取代目前的化石燃料存在难度。“你看英国的离岸风力发电场，分布面积约2万个足球场总和，能给60万户家庭供电。新加坡就算在所有建筑外层和屋顶，以及地铁轨道等都装上太阳能板，也无法提供足够能源，因此要另辟蹊径。”

Mr Lim said that it is difficult for Singapore to replace fossil fuels with clean energy alone. “Look at the offshore wind farms in the UK, with a total area of ​​about 20,000 football fields, which can supply 600,000 homes. Even solar panels are installed in all the outer layers and roofs of buildings and subway tracks, they can’t generate enough energy to meet the whole Singapore’s usage. We need to look for other solutions.”

 

许多人都不知道，人类所需的七成以上氧气是由海洋浮游生物与海藻生成。林顺兴的设想是，基础设施移到海上浮体后，所产生的二氧化碳通过人工管道排入布满浮游生物与海藻的海洋中，通过光合作用产生氧气，实现碳中和（carbon neutral），抵消温室气体排放。

Many people don’t know that more than 70% of the oxygen needed by humans is produced by marine plankton and algae. Mr Lim’s idea is that after setting up infrastructures on floating platforms at sea, the carbon dioxide produced is discharged through pipes into the ocean filled with plankton and seaweed. Then oxygen is generated by photosynthesis to achieve carbon neutral.

 

“加上海水吸热能力远高于陆地，垃圾焚化厂将能减少能源损耗，提升工作效率。发电厂在能源转换中所需的冷却水，如果使用深海水，将比目前从近海抽取的水温低5摄氏度以上，发电效率会相应提高。”

“Seawater has higher heat absorption rate than land. Waste incineration plants built on floating platforms will have higher efficiency and less energy consumption. This is because the temperature of deep sea water is about 5 degree Celsius lower than that of near-shore shallow waters. Using deep sea water to cool the generators, the power generation efficiency will increase accordingly.”

 

据专家估计，到了2100年，全球海平面上升幅度或达一米。林顺兴说，使用高标号混凝土打造的超大型浮动结构每平方米造价约2000元，远低于填海造地，寿命长达200年。“从经济与环境保护角度来看，浮动建筑是比填海更好的方法。它随潮涨潮落漂浮，受海平面升高的影响也较小。”浮动建筑浸在水下的部分，则能成为珊瑚礁等水生物的温床。“公园局也无须花高价在海中放置人工礁结构，珊瑚在此安家，也可减少对生态产生的负面影响。”新加坡浮动解决方案学会正与新加坡海事及港务管理局（MPA）等机构积极联系，希望可以开展相关试验项目。

According to experts’ estimates, by 2100, the global sea level rise could reach one meter. Mtr Lim said that the super-large floating structure made of high-grade concrete cost about SGD 2,000 per square meter, which is much lower than the land reclamation and has a service life of 200 years. “From the perspective of economy and environmental protection, floating buildings are a better way than reclamation. It floats with the tide, which is less affected by the rise of sea level.” The floating building is submerged in the water. It can become a hotbed of aquatic life such as coral reefs. “The National Parks Board does not have to place additional artificial reef structures in the sea. Corals that live on the bottom of floating buildings can also reduce the negative impact on the ecology.” The Singapore Floating Solutions Society is actively working with the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and wish to test out some pilot projects.

 

林顺兴相信，“新加坡有能力与条件成为工业活动超大型浮动结构的试验基地，成为向全世界展示碳平衡成果的窗口。”

Mr Lim believes that “Singapore has the ability and conditions to become a test base for the super-large floating structure, and become a ‘carbon neutral’ role model to show case to the rest of the world.”

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