ALREADY known as the Garden City, Singapore is making plans to become even more green, with new projects and incentives planned over the next two decades.
Under the sustainable development blueprint, 900ha of new parkland will be added in the next 10 years, bringing the total area of parkland to 4,200ha, or about 6 per cent of the nation’s land area.
Upcoming parks include Gardens by the Bay at the Marina Bay area, the Coney Island park off the north-east coast of Singapore, and the expansion of the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve near Kranji.
By 2030, there will be 0.8ha of parkland for every 1,000 people.
Getting from one park to another will also be made easier when park connectors triple in length to 360km by 2020. This will complement a 150km round-island route, allowing people to cycle, stroll or jog closer to Singapore’s coastline and tropical greenery.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has earmarked areas like Changi, Punggol and Lim Chu Kang to be developed into nature-based leisure sites with camping facilities, spas and chalets.
The green push is not only happening at ground level. Projects will extend skyward with another 50ha of skyrise greenery planned by 2030 - including 9ha of green roof projects, being developed on top of multi-storey carparks in residential estates, within the next three years.
Rooftop garden areas first began sprouting on top of multi-storey carparks in Punggol in 2003. They have now taken root at other estates in Sembawang, Seng Kang and Toa Payoh.
All new buildings here are now required to meet minimum green standards under the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark scheme. The planting of green rooftops adds to a building’s overall points, besides other aspects like water conservation and energy efficiency.
Changi General Hospital’s new green roof, for instance, reduces energy consumption by up to a quarter by cooling the rooms directly underneath it.
The garden, which has a fountain and fitness facilities for staff amid the greenery, opened last week and is the size of about 20 tennis courts.
Apart from adding to Singapore’s green belt, the Government is also introducing incentives to encourage private developers to grow green thumbs.
The National Parks Board will co-fund up to half the costs of setting up a green roof project in the Central Business District or Orchard Road area.
And existing buildings within the Orchard Road shopping area and downtown will get bonus gross floor area from URA for setting up rooftop outdoor refreshment areas if landscaping is included.
New developments in the Downtown Core near the CBD, Jurong Gateway and Kallang Riverside will also have to provide landscaped areas equivalent to the site area.
Blue spaces here will also increase with the opening of more reservoirs and waterways for recreation.
Currently there are 645ha of reservoirs and 66.9km of waterways for public use, this will increase to 900ha and 100km, respectively, by 2030.
The first two Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters projects by the Public Utilities Board located at Kolam Ayer and Bedok Reservoir were completed last year.
A further 27 water projects are in the pipeline for the next few years, with 130 to be implemented over the next 20 years.
Going green
~ Additional 900ha of parkland by 2020.
~ 360km of park connectors by 2020.
~ Additional 50ha of skyrise greenery by 2030, including 9ha of green roofs on HDB multi-storey carparks.
~ Introduce initiatives such as co-funding for green roof projects, bonus gross floor area for rooftop outdoor refreshment areas and landscape replacement policy.
~ 900ha of reservoirs and 100km of waterways for recreational use by 2030.
~ Action plan to conserve biodiversity.
No comments:
Post a Comment