Box Story: The Long Island Project

Background

Climate change is a real and critical threat for Singapore. With around 30% of land located less than 5 m above mean sea level, Singapore is extremely vulnerable to the impact of sea level rise. For instance, there have been instances of flooding within East Coast Park during high tides, even without heavy rain. “Long Island” is one possible strategy to protect homes, businesses, critical infrastructure and public spaces in the area, such as Changi Airport and East Coast Park.

Transient flooding at East Coast Park due to heavy rainfall (PUB)

Proposed Solution

Long Island is being studied as an integrated solution to protect the East Coast from rising sea levels and strengthen flood resilience. This project will involve reclaiming land off the East Coast area to a higher level and forming a continuous line of defence along the coast, protecting the inland areas from rising sea levels.

Existing outlet drainage along the coast will then drain surface runoff into a new reservoir. There will be two centralised tidal gates and pumping stations, similar in concept to the Marina Barrage, which will keep seawater out during high tides and help discharge excess stormwater into the sea during heavy rainfall.

Long Island proposal (Urban Redevelopment Authority)

Taking a Long-Term Approach

The idea for the Long Island project was first mooted under the 1991 Concept Plan. Then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (2004–2024) later shared further details on it during his 2019 National Day Rally, and it was subsequently showcased at an exhibition by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 2022.

The concept has since evolved into an integrated solution that aims to address multiple national needs—mitigate rising sea levels, strengthen flood resilience, and boost Singapore’s rainwater harvesting capacity, while providing additional land for development. In late 2023, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee (2020–2025) announced that Singapore was commencing public consultation to shape the plans for Long Island, which will be informed by technical studies.

It also entails reclaiming about 800 hectares of land off the East Coast to meet future development needs and includes the creation of a new freshwater reservoir. New green and blue spaces will be integrated with other recreational areas, waterfront living concepts and nature-based solutions to create multi-functional and climate-resilient spaces. For instance, there will be new recreational opportunities by adding around 20 km of new waterfront parks, which will be part of a larger and continuous 120-km-long stretch of accessible waterfront space along Singapore’s southern coast.

Artist's impression of Long Island (Urban Redevelopment Authority)

As noted by Minister Grace Fu, the process of developing Long Island will incur huge costs and drastic landscape changes, hence this process has to really be done carefully. For solutions to bear lasting resilience, the process of developing long-term solutions needs to also embrace engagement with the public from the get-go.

Since 2023, the URA and partner agencies have engaged about 3,000 members of the public and stakeholders to understand their aspirations for Long Island and seek their ideas on the preliminary concept for the project. Agencies will continue to engage and study the project extensively to shape a Long Island that reflects collective aspirations and caters to the needs of future generations.