Singapore: Keppel Corp ‘exploring’ floating city project

SINGAPORE (June 23): The island republic might just see a floating city as part of its skyline if things work out.

This will of course be a good thing for land scarce Singapore.

"We have the technology and capabilities to build floating cities, which can address both land scarcity as well as the threat of rising sea levels in coastal areas.

“We are currently exploring how such nearshore developments can be built in Singapore," said Keppel chief executive officer and executive director Loh Chin Hua at the World Cities Summit yesterday, according to a report by The Straits Times.

Loh was speaking at panel discussion on how cities can respond to climate, social and technological change.

Covid-19 has also impacted how cities will be designed in the future. Mayor of Japan’s Fukuoka city Soichiro Takashima, revealed that “adaptations” to cities for pandemics can become a "new selling point".

Takashima revealed that “infectious diseases city plan” has been “put in place” in Fukuoka.

The plan “lays out how buildings can revamp ventilation systems and use touchless technology so that people can enter and leave a building and use restrooms without having to touch any fittings”, he added.

The Singapore-based daily reported that floating cities were some of “the examples cited by panellists on how cities can build with an eye on the future and prepare for disruptions from pandemics and climate change”.

In Malaysia, there has been a call clear guidelines on the ventilation system in buildings as cleaner indoor air could curb the spread of the coronavirus.

“Industry experts and leaders need to step up as well. Do not sit back and wait for the government to draw up the policy,” said World Health Organization (WHO) Science Council member and infectious diseases expert Prof Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman in a report by EdgeProp.my.

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