Singapore construction update: 2024 edition

Functional footpaths and drainage

I arrived in Singapore via the shuttle train from Johor Bahru. I wrote a construction report for JB, and the biggest frustration about JB (and Malaysia in general) is how hard it is to walk in the cities. Arriving in Singapore it was immediately apparent how functional footpaths make for a more pleasant urban experience.

To reacquaint myself with this walking freedom I walked to the nearest metro station, which was about 20 minutes away. I arrived at a pedestrian crossing without a crossing light, and I marvelled that a truck stopped well before I was about the make the crossing. I was also in awe of the deep drainage ditches that are built to handle intense tropical downpours.

Even roads where you wouldn’t expect much pedestrian traffic have footpaths.

After walking for 3 days around Singapore, I think the number one thing that other countries in Southeast Asia can copy from Singapore is to build footpaths everywhere. It will be hard and expensive to retrofit old roads with new footpaths, but new roads should be built with footpaths. What bothers about new urban developments in Southeast Asia is that cities continue to make the same mistake of not building footpaths.

Rail Corridor and Tanjong Pagar Station

One of my missions on this trip was to walk the Rail Corridor. The current walkable track is about 20km, so I reserved a day to do this. I will have a walking guide at Nomadic Notes (subscribe here), but I mention this here because I went by some projects that will feature in this round-up.

At the end (or start) of the walk is Tanjong Pagar Station. This is the old Singapore Railway Station, which closed in 2011.

Cantonment Station of the Circle Line MRT is being built under the old platforms, so it is not possible to visit the station at the moment. There is a construction office and public showroom next to the old station, so I went in for a visit. They have information about the metro line and a scale model of the old station.

The station will be restored when the metro line is complete. The Rail Corridor walk will start/end at the station, but at the moment the Tanjong Pagar section of the walk is closed.

Avenue South Residence

The Avenue South Residence was on my list of buildings I wanted to visit on this trip. The two 56-storey towers are the tallest prefabricated towers in the world. Here is an article about the construction.

The towers can be entered via the rail corridor (if you are a resident), so I got to see the towers while I was doing the walk.

Gali Batu Multi-Storey Bus Depot

On my rail corridor walk I saw the under-construction Gali Batu Multi-Storey Bus Depot.

CapitaSpring

I went for a wander around the financial district by the river, and one of the latest editions to the city skyline is CapitaSpring.

At 280 metres, it’s one of the tallest buildings in Singapore. This area is packed tight with towers, so it was hard to find a good angle for a clear view.

Pan Pacific Orchard

I don’t cover hotel openings unless it’s something exceptional. When I saw a press release for the Pan Pacific Orchard I had to see it for myself. The Pan Pacific Orchard is off Orchard Road, behind the Thai Embassy. It’s a rare building that looks even better than the architectural renders.

Sadly, the boss of Future Southeast Asia (me) said I didn’t have the budget to stay there. If you are going to stay here, book with this link (affiliate link) and let me know how it is!

Kallang Airport Terminal

I wrote an article on Nomadic Notes about defunct airports of Southeast Asia. One of the airports on the list is the old Singapore Airport at Kallang. The original terminal building still exists, so I paid a visit on this trip. The building is currently surrounded by construction materials, but otherwise, it is still looking magnificent. There are plans to reuse the building, so I will keep a lookout for that and post it in the newsletter.

20th Century Heritage

Singapore is famous for its 19th and early 20th-century shophouses, which are now protected after a period where they were being demolished. We are now deep enough into the 21st century to consider mid to late 20th-century buildings as historic architecture that should be protected.

I was reading about how the landmark People’s Park Complex was being studied for conservation, so I made a point to pay a visit.

There is a shopping centre inside that is already a relic of a bygone era when compared to the modern mall experience.

There is a new apartment tower rising not far from the People’s Park Complex called One Pearl Bank. This new tower replaces the Pearl Bank Apartments, which was the tallest residential building in Singapore when completed in 1976. Like the People’s Park Complex, there were calls to save the original tower.

Liang Court was a shopping mall in the Clarke Quay that opened in 1984. The mall has been demolished and the site is now home to the future Canninghill Piers.

CanningHill Piers made the news when it was reported that a Chinese national bought 20 units for around $85m.

I went by the Peninsula Plaza, which I have walked by so many times in my visits to Singapore. I probably thought it looked old and dowdy when I first saw it, but now this building from 1979 looks iconic.

The Peninsula Plaza is home to the Little Burma of Singapore.

Shenton House is a brutalist classic from the 1970s. The building was sold for $538 million in 2023 and it will be repurposed and not demolished.

Another office block that is getting refurbished is Anson Centre.

One building from the 1970s that didn’t survive was Shaw Tower on Beach Road. Here is a time-lapse video of the demolition.

The new Shaw Tower is now under construction.

I didn’t visit Singapore in 2023, so I didn’t get to pay my last respects to the Golden Mile Complex (Singapore’s ‘Little Thailand’).

HDB housing, courteous construction, and the workers who build this city

Singapore is well-known for its public housing system. It’s a system I wonder why Vietnam doesn’t emulate, which has a social housing shortage while developers continue to build “luxury” apartments and villas.

I saw advertising for HDB flats throughout the metro system.

Land is reserved across Singapore for future HDB projects.

Another notable observation about construction in Singapore is that information is provided about the construction process.

Singapore is built by imported labourers (mostly from South Asia), and these “migrant workers” (not expats) are housed in migrant worker dormitories.

I got the metro to the northern starting point of the rail corridor walk, which took me through parts of Singapore I had never been to. The metro went by one of the migrant worker dormitory compounds.

Dormitories have been ordered to meet higher standards by 2030, which includes a 12-bed dorm limit. Here is a prototype dorm room with 8 beds.

Another recent issue with migrant workers has been the matter of transporting workers in lorries. This is a common site in Bangkok (for example) but there are calls for Singapore to transport workers in proper buses and not in the back of a truck.

Future Singapore

This report is an overview of my observations from places I visited, so I haven’t covered mega projects such as the Changi Airport expansion or Tuas Port development. I have an ongoing list of projects on the Future Singapore page.