Reclaimed ‘Long Island’ off East Coast could be about twice the size of Marina Bay: Desmond Lee
Lee Sze Teck, top director of data analytics at Huttons Asia, determines that at 800ha, Long Island would certainly be quite similar in size to the Kallang-Whampoa estate and can possibly place between 30,000 and 60,000 new homes with a great mix of business, leisure and environment-friendly elements.
He proceeds: “The possibilities of creating a 2nd Sentosa are poor as the state intends to produce a comprehensive society allowing every person access to great residences and not just for the wealthy.” He also views that the project will certainly trigger further investment into transport connectivity, with the potential for an MRT or LRT extension to spread from the Thomson-East Coast Line to Long Island.
In any case, the future developments on Long Island will likely work for present nonpublic projects along the East Coast, most of which are freehold, Huttons’ Lee completes. “It may even boost the potential for en-bloc in the future.”
The recommended Long Island will certainly integrate seaside security steps with future reclamation programs for the area, in view of the long-term impact of climate change which includes increasing water level. “Mean sea levels across Singapore are forecasted to climb by up to 1m by the end of this century. When high water accompany thunderstorm rises, sea levels might climb by up to 4 to 5m above mean sea level. This is a really serious problem, since approximately one-third of our island is below 5m above mean sea level, and at risk of being inundated by the sea,” Minister Lee describes.
Around 800ha throughout three regions of land might potentially be recovered off East Coast Park in future years, giving area for brand-new homes and amenities. Called “Long Island”, the land would certainly be about twice the size of Marina Bay, states Desmond Lee, Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration.
” It is very likely that the allotment for common housing will certainly be more than private real estate on Long Island,” Huttons’ Lee claims, adding that the HDB apartments will very likely be introduced either under the Prime or Plus model.
The idea of Long Island would certainly “project coastal projection seawards”, enabling the existing East Coast Park to be maintained largely in its present state, Minister Lee claims. It will in addition produce a covered waterbody, which will emerge as a freshwater basin in time, adding to Singapore’s water system while even being an area the general public can utilize for water activities.
Technical researches will be carried out to assess the workability of the project, with the studies expected to take around five years. Simultaneously, residents and stakeholders are going to be involved to supply responses and strategies on the plan. Provided the scale of the project, complete preparation and implementation of Long Island “will take several years”, Minister Lee states.
Speaking at a habitat enhancement activity at East Coast Park hung on Nov 28, Minister Lee mentions that the assignment would create opportunities for future ages of Singapore. “They could build homes, generate work, establish support services and facilities that they need, and add around 20 km of new seaside and reservoir parks, expanding from the present East Coast Park,” he adds.
