SINGAPORE (AP) — Already one of the most densely populated
countries in the world, tiny land scarce Singapore is projecting its population
to swell by a third over the next two decades. To accommodate the influx, its
planners envisage expanding upward, outward and downward.
The population target of 6.9
million people, an increase of 1.3 million from the present, is contentious in
a country where rapid immigration has already strained services such as public
transport and contributed to surging home prices and a widening wealth gap. It
sparked a rare protest last week, with some 3,000 people gathering in a park
that’s the only approved area for demonstrations.
Singaporeans, whose forebears
mostly hailed from southern China, fear their falling birth rates combined with
the relentless immigration will reduce them to a minority in their own country.
Adding a new dimension to their complaints is the idea that planners want
underground living to leap off their drawing boards and become a solution to
overcrowding.
State media is already
championing the idea. In September, the Straits Times newspaper characterized
underground living as the “next frontier” for Singapore. It said Singaporeans
may one day “live, work and play below ground in vast, subterranean caverns
that make today’s underground malls look like home basements.” The Building
Construction Authority, which oversees a new agency responsible for surveying
underground, said it could become reality by 2050.
The public’s reaction has
included derision and disbelief.
“Why pull me down,” said Patricia
Bian-Hing, a retired 87-year-old businesswoman. “The only time I will go
underground peacefully to live will be in my coffin.”
But experts are calling for an
open mind about the possibility.
“Singaporeans are dismissing this
prospect because it is new, not because it is unworkable or implausible,” said
Jeffrey Chan, an assistant professor of architecture at the National University
of Singapore.
“Astronauts who live in space
stations, despite the abundance of direct sunlight have to live in shade most
of the time, and they are only debilitated from the lack of gravity, not
light,” he said. “Hence, I think if there are any biologically-imposed
constraints, psychologically or real, these biological constraints can be
overcome through new habits or technologically.”
With about 675 square kilometers
(261 square miles) of land, Singapore is only 3.5 times the size of Washington
DC and has limited options for increasing its space. Land reclaimed from the
sea already accounts for a fifth of its landmass and Singapore’s appetite for
imported sand for reclamation has caused tensions with neighboring countries
concerned about coastal erosion. But its ruling People’s Action Party, in power
since 1959, sees a bigger population as crucial to its goal of transforming
Singapore into what it calls a leading world city.
The government’s new plans call
for releasing land for housing and industry by closing golf courses and
military training grounds and paving over some of the island’s nature reserves.
That along with reclamation will free some 5,200 hectares (52 square kilometers,
20 square miles) of land to help accommodate an additional 700,000 homes and
new shops and factories over the next 20 years. The projected increase in
available land lags far behind the planned population increase so projects to
put industry and other activities underground are already advancing on several
fronts despite the technical challenges and significantly higher costs of
subterranean construction.
“Going underground is one option
for Singapore as it frees up surface land,” said David Tan, assistant chief
executive officer of Jurong Town Corporation, Singapore’s main development
body.
The JTC is studying construction
of an underground science complex beneath an existing science park that’s used
by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Projected to cost 50 percent
more than a similar facility above ground, it would go down 30 storeys — 80 to
100 meters — and house laboratories, offices and a data center.
The corporation has already
overseen construction of a massive underground oil bunker in rock caverns that
freed up a surface area equivalent to six petrochemical plants. The island also
saved 300 hectares of space by putting an ammunition bunker underground.
A possibility explored for
several years is an underground extension of Singapore’s Nangyang Technological
University after a 1999 study by the government and the university found at
least part of the area beneath the campus could be turned into rock caverns.
Planners envisage four underground levels that could accommodate lecture
theatres, cinemas, libraries, offices, laboratories and car parking.
“If we think about it, there are
already underground spaces here in Singapore and throughout most major metropolitan
regions,” said Erik L’Heureux, an architecture professor NUS.
“We already have underground
train stations and malls, and there are already many buildings here that take
advantage of spaces below ground so the real questions are how much time will
one spend underground, what goes on there, and how far down from natural light
and fresh air.”
For the Singapore for
Singaporeans camp, the space squeeze has only highlighted the costs of the
government’s population and economic policies. Its efforts to attract
high-skilled professionals in finance, science and other industries it wants
Singapore to be known for has resulted in nature sanctuaries and cemeteries
being overrun by golf courses and luxury condominiums.
“Ultimately it will be
Singaporeans who will suffer,” said Rachel Mun, a 33-year old sales assistant.
“As it is, Singapore is already bursting with people and things we once
depended on like transportation, have become exhausted because of the influx of
commuters.”
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