FLOODING IN SINGAPORE

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Mr Harun bin A. Ghani asked the Minister for the Environment (a) how much has been expended so far in making Singapore free from floods; and (b) why has there been flooding whenever there are heavy downpours in spite of this expenditure.

The Acting Minister for the Environment (Mr Lim Swee Say): Sir, ENV spends $60-$70 million a year to improve the drains and canals in Singapore. Since 1984, ENV has spent a total of $1.3 billion on drainage improvement works, including the widening and deepening of main drains and canals to cater for increased storm water runoff arising from new land developments.

ENV is committed to reduce flooding in Singapore and has over the years, progressively implemented many drainage improvement projects to alleviate and prevent flooding. This investment in drainage infrastructure has paid off. In spite of rapid urbanisation and intensified redevelopments, the flood situation in Singapore has continued to improve significantly. There are now 238 hectares of flood-prone areas as compared to some 3,200 hectares in the 1970s, a reduction of more than 90%. The floods are less severe and are of relatively short duration.

Sir, ENV will continue to improve the existing drains and canals to alleviate flooding in flood-prone areas, whenever it is cost-effective to do so. However, it is not feasible to completely rid Singapore of all floods for two reasons.

Firstly, some of the areas such as those in Boat Quay and Chinatown are low-lying and are barely above high tide level. These premises remain prone to flooding, especially when heavy rain coincides with high tide. The only effective flood control measure is to raise the ground levels of these premises in conjunction with redevelopment plans.

Secondly, there is a limit to which we can widen drains because of land constraints. Very intense rainfall, which may occur once every five years or so, could overwhelm the capacity of the drains and cause flash floods. Such floods, however, could be minor and of short duration.

I would like to assure Mr Harun and the House that ENV is committed to press on with our drainage improvement projects to reduce flooding in Singapore, and to keep the flood situation well under control.

Mr Harun bin A. Ghani (Hong Kah): Sir, I was surprised when the Acting Minister for the Environment mentioned that the Chinatown area is low-lying. I have found out that many hawker centres, for example, the Adam Road hawker centre and some markets are flooded during a heavy downpour. Could ENV do something about it?

Mr Lim Swee Say: I thank Mr Harun for his feedback and I would ask my officials to look into some of these isolated cases.