Surbana Jurong pioneers innovative land reclamation project in Singapore

Surbana Jurong has broken new ground in Singapore’s land reclamation efforts. As the appointed consultants for a Housing Development Board (HDB) project to reclaim land around the northwestern tip of Pulau Tekong (located off Singapore’s northeastern coast), SJ played an important role in pioneering the development of a unique method which will significantly reduce Singapore’s reliance on sand and help save on upfront construction costs.

Called the polder development method, the new method will be adopted in Singapore for the first time and upon completion will add 810 hectares of land to Pulau Tekong, increasing Singapore’s land size by approximately one per cent.

SJ’s infrastructure and Urban Development teams have provided HDB with the overall planning and detailed engineering design for the development of the polder including that of its innovative water management system, dikes, pumping stations, drainage structures, electrical and mechanical systems.

A polder is a low-lying tract of land that has been reclaimed from the sea. A wall or dike is constructed to prevent seawater from entering the polder, while water levels within the polder are controlled by a network of drains and pumps.

Polders are historically used by the Dutch, and the Netherlands has the highest standards for dike safety in the world. To that end, SJ drew on the Netherlands’ experience by partnering Royal Haskoning DHV to gain advance knowledge of the reclamation method.

We have also prepared the tender specifications and drawings for the construction stage, and assisted with obtaining the statutory approvals for the development from various government agencies. SJ will provide the design supervision when construction works, set for end 2017, begin.

Click here to view the video on the new reclamation method.