Government to add residential and commercial areas to Greater Southern Waterfront

The Pasir Panjang Terminals will be moved to free up more space.

The government is planning to add 9,000 housing units and unlock more office space to the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) area in the next few years, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally speech.

GSW comprises 30km of the southern coastline and contains 2,000 ha of land, which is said to be six times the size of Marina Bay and double the size of Punggol.

The first GSW development focuses on adding 9,000 HDB and private houses that will replace the golf course Keppel Club as its lease will end in two years. Furthermore, Lee said that they will move Pasir Panjang Terminals to Tuas by 2027 and Tuas Port by 2040, which will then free up more space.

“And that is just the start, because there is space and land for public and private housing elsewhere in the GSW too. With GSW the size of two Punggols, you get a sense of the possibilities. Think of it as Punggol by the Bay,” Lee stated.

In addition, he also plans to build a commercial area that can be quite similar to Mapletree Business City in GSW, to house more office spaces. Two Pasir Panjang power stations will also be redeveloped, which Lee noted will be similar to how they transformed St James Power Station into a nightlife destination.

The government is also planning to move Brani Terminal to build new attractions in the area as well as in Sentosa.

“We will also link up the GSW with all the surrounding green areas, so that you have a whole connection from West Coast Park to East Coast Park, and also connect up the Rail Corridor and Sentosa. With a new green heart in the centre, Singapore will be even more of a City in a Garden,” Lee added.

On a separate note, Lee also mentioned that the government is currently making efforts to protect itself against rising sea levels, where investments would cost $100b in over 100 years.

“Singapore is already feeling the impact [of climate change]. Our weather is palpably hotter. Rainstorms are heavier. And this will very likely worsen over the next few decades, within the lifetimes of many of us. A recent Swiss study found that by 2050, just 30 years from now, several cities in the world will experience unprecedented climate shifts. And it found that one of them will be Singapore,” Lee stated.

He explained that the government is weighing the use of building polders, or an area enclosed by seawalls in the water. The government is currently creating a small polder at Pulau Tekong, which will be used for SAF training. He also explored the possibility of reclaiming a series of islands offshore, from Marina East to Changi.