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UNDERGROUND CITIES

The Ministry of National Development (MND) has announced some plans to increase the use of our underground spaces for living, working and recreation of Singaporeans. I believe going Underground is the next frontier as Singapore looks into looking for more land for our next phase of growth. We have all the while, rely on the following strategies to fully leverage our small land size for economic growth: (a) going “vertically” via skyscrapers and taller buildings, (b) reclamation, e.g. the Marina Bay District, (c) conversion of lands for higher-density use, e.g. building new towns in Tampines North and Tengah and (d) the most recent strategy: reprioritising: moving of airbases and container terminals to far-flung areas of our island, freeing up space for higher-density use. So now, we know, Singapore will be exploring the underground spaces for our next phase of growth. I believe the recent exploration of underground spaces for industrial activities like housing of oil refineries under the JTC’s projects has proven good so that the authorities here are looking into going underground for Singapore’s residential and economic needs. I believe in the next few decades, Singapore will have its very own underground cities like those (as I have read) in Scandinavia!

At this moment, I cannot imagine living in a HDB flat underground! Will HDB flats underground be cheaper than those on the ground? And will we get to a stage whereby we determine who to live underground and who to live on land in the future? But even before we go into that, I hope MND will do a detailed study on possible health risks for people to live underground on a long term basis as I really believe man is not born and built to live underground! I know Singapore is innovative but we should not be so innovative to the extent of defying nature!

I would even go to the extent that our seas may be the frontier after underground and then we may be able to live there like fishes!  

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