[ Today ] Singapore to reclaim land around Pedra Branca to build facilities to improve maritime safety and security

Singapore to reclaim land around Pedra Branca to build facilities to improve maritime safety and security

SINGAPORE – Singapore will start reclaiming land around Pedra Branca by the end of this year, as part of planned development work that was postponed because of an earlier legal tussle with Malaysia over the island’s sovereignty.

The Housing and Development Board will reclaim land around Pedra Branca

The development work will improve facilities on the island, let vessels berth and allow more facilities to be set up

It will take a few years to complete 

The work, announced in 2019, had been postponed owing to a sovereignty dispute with Malaysia

Pedra Branca sits near the entrance to the Singapore Strait about 44km to the east of the country.

Right now, it houses facilities for Singapore’s vessel traffic information system, which monitors vessel movements in the country’s waters; a helipad; a desalination plant; a communications tower; and a military rebroadcast station, which improves air and naval communications. 

The island is also home to the Horsburgh Lighthouse, the first such tower in Singapore.