Reclaimed ‘Long Island’ off East Coast could be about twice the size of Marina Bay: Desmond Lee
Close to 800ha across three tracts of land could possibly be reclaimed off East Coast Park in near future years, presenting space for new homes and facilities. Dubbed “Long Island”, the land would be approximately twice the measurements of Marina Bay, says Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration.
Lee Sze Teck, senior director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, assesses that at 800ha, Long Island would be similar in dimension to the Kallang-Whampoa estate and might potentially place in between 30,000 and 60,000 all new homes with a good mix of business, recreation and environment-friendly components.
Technical researches will definitely be carried out to evaluate the usefulness of the project, with the researches expected to take approximately five years. Simultaneously, residents and stakeholders are going to be engaged to offer feedback and concepts on the plan. Provided the scale of the development, full preparation and implementation of Long Island “will take several years”, Minister Lee states.
The suggested Long Island will incorporate seaside safety solutions with future reclamation arrangements for the area, in view of the extended effect of climate difference that includes ascending sea levels. “Mean sea levels around Singapore are predicted to increase by as much as 1m by the end of this century. When full tides accompany hurricane surges, sea levels might rise by up to 4 to 5m over mean sea level. This is a really serious problem, since around one-third of our island is beneath 5m above mean sea level, and in danger of being swamped by the sea,” Minister Lee describes.
Speaking at a habitat improvement event at East Coast Park hung on Nov 28, Minister Lee mentions that the property would produce opportunities for years to come generations of Singapore. “They can build homes, produce jobs, develop services and amenities that they require, and add around 20 kilometres of brand new seaside and reservoir parks, stretching from the current East Coast Park,” he adds in.
” It is strongly likely that the allocation for public housing will certainly be greater than private real estate on Long Island,” Huttons’ Lee states, adding that the HDB apartments will likely be launched either under the Prime or Plus model.
He continues: “The opportunities of creating a 2nd Sentosa are low as the state wishes to create an inclusive society enabling everybody availability to good properties and not just for the rich.” He also watches that the program will certainly motivate further investment right into transport connection, with the possibility for an MRT or LRT expansion to spread from the Thomson-East Coast Line to Long Island.
The principle of Long Island would “plan coastal projection seawards”, enabling the existing East Coast Park to be maintained mostly in its existing state, Minister Lee claims. It will in addition create an enclosed waterbody, which will emerge as a freshwater basin with time, contributing to Singapore’s water supply while furthermore being an area the general public can utilize for water functions.
In any case, the future property developments on Long Island will likely help existing exclusive developments along the East Coast, the majority of which are freehold, Huttons’ Lee concludes. “It may even boost the potential for en-bloc in the future.”
