Quirky Singapore XVI - Reclamation (as in reclamation of land from the sea)

Land reclamation in Singapore has started in the colonial era on a fairly small scale, as early as the 1820s. Large scale land reclamation has started in the 1960s to reclaim a total of about 135 km² of land by 2003.

Wikipedia says: Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a landfill), is the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds, or lake. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or land fill.


Reasons for land reclamation in Singapore include land scarcity and expected population growth. For a population of 4m+ the original area of the island was 581.6 km² in 1960, resulting in a population density of more than 6000 people per sqkm. Singapore plans/expects to have 7m people by 2030, which is also expected to result in growing industries and businesses being limited by spatial constraints.

 
Method to reclaim land from the coast and swamps and to merge islands 
Piles are forced into the seabed to make it stable, these piles ensure that the land will not collapse when put to use.  
A sand wall is built to keep sea water out: sand is sucked up from the sea bed and is spewed into the enclosed reclaimed area.

The sand is compressed.
A granite wall is built to prevent soil erosion by waves.
Vegetation and trees are grown to prevent soil erosion. The land is ready for use in 1 to 5 years.


Land fill materials 
In the early years, the 1960s, the fill materials were evacuated from the hills in Bedok, Siglap, Tampines and Jurong and used for filling the reclamation areas. Singapore basically gorged its hills and ridges this is why Singapore island is virtually flat. 
In recent years, sea sand obtained from the seabed (or from hills) is the main source of fill materials for reclamation. Sand is preferred over clay or rocks because it settles better. The sand is imported from neighboring countries such as Indonesia (~80% of Singapore's needs) and Malaysia, paying a hefty price between S$7 (USD4) and S$10 (USD6) a cubic meter.



Constraints on land reclamation
Land reclamation works in the past used to be carried out in depths of 5-10m. New reclamation works have to venture into deeper waters of 15m or so, which incurs higher costs.
The competing aims of maintaining sealanes and providing for larger ports for larger ships limits the distance of land reclamation offshore.
Adverse environmental effects of reclamation are found.
Disputes with Malaysia and Indonesia: Malaysia took Singapore to the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in September 2003, accusing Singapore of dredging in the Johor Strait between the two countries without consulting Malaysia, hurting marine life and affecting shipping in the Johor Strait. The 18-month dispute cooled when the two countries acknowledged the strait as "a shared water body".
 

Type of Project Period Area Use Reclamation of swamps Colonial period South bank of Singapore River (present Boat Quay) Commercial and trade purposes Telok Ayer, Chinatown Residential Reclamation along the coasts 1966 – 1985 East Coast Commercial, housing estates (residential), recreational 1976 – 1978 Changi Changi Airport 1984 – 1988 Tuas (swamps) (From fishing village) Industrial estate 1993 Between Singapore and Malaysia / Tuas Second Causeway (Second Link) Reclamation of offshore islands 1991 Jurong Island Industrial (petrochemical) 1979 – 1980 Sentosa Recreational purposes 1975 – 1976 St John’s Island Recreational purposes

Land mass growth
By 1990, the total land area of Singapore was 633km². This was an increase of 51.5km², which made up 8.9% the total land area. 
By 2003, when land reclamation has stalled due to short supply of sand from Indonesia, Singapore had an area of 699km², a growth of 135km² and 20% of their landmass.
With continuing land reclamation, Singapore's land area is planned to increase by about another 100km² by the year 2030.  

Modified coastline
Land reclamation has modified the coastline of Singapore, extending it seawards, especially on the eastern, north-eastern and western parts of the island, and changing it quite beyond recognition in some areas. Large coastal areas have also been straightened by the building of dykes across estuaries, particularly in the west coast across the estuaries of Tengeh, Poyan, Murai and Sarimbun.

Further plans of reclamation in yellow:

 Overlaid on Google map:

The major reclamation projects.

East: Changi, Pasir Ris, Tenah Merah

 

North: Mandai

 

South: islands (Jurong island is at the top left hand corner)

 

Time-lapse video
A 3-minute YouTube time-lapse video from 1984 to 2012, based on satellite imagery taken by Landsat satellite, showing the land reclamation in Singapore, especially around Changi, Tekong, Jurong Island and Tuas.

Sources: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here