Singapore says it will stick by land reclamation policy

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Singapore said today it will continue to reclaim land from within its territorial waters despite a dispute with Malaysia over a reclamation project near their sea border.

"To meet the increasing demand for land, MND (Ministry of National Development) will also continue our land reclamation programme from our territorial waters," Minister Mah Bow Tan said in a statement.

It made no reference to a land reclamation project in the Tebrau Stait, which Malaysia has said is too close to their waters and could obstruct its plan to become a regional shipping hub to rival Singapore.

Port authorities in the Johor just across Singapore have complained the reclamation programme was obstructing the smooth navigation of ships through the narrow sea lane.

Singapore has stressed the reclamation was within its territorial waters and was being carried out according to international laws.

In the statement Wednesday, the ministry also said it will contribute to the land-scarce city-state's competitivness by "optimising land use", easing regulatory controls and upgrading the construction industry.

"Given Singapore's size, good land use planning is critical to ensure that we can meet competing demands for land use as well as put in place a quality living environment," it said.

It pledged to explore new zoning schemes to give businesses more flexibility to change the use of their land in order to respond quickly to changing needs and market demand.

Alternative sources

In a separate statement today, Environment Minister Lim Swee Say said Singapore will also rely more on alternative sources of drinking water.

Singapore, an affluent island-republic devoid of natural resources, imports water from Malaysia under a pricing scheme which has recently come under fire from Malaysian politicians for allegedly being unfair to Kuala Lumpur.

"A stable, secure and adequate supply of water is critical to our survival," Lim said.

"We will tap all possible sources of water. We will supplement traditional sources of supply with non-conventional sources," it said, mentioning desalination and water purification through membrane technology.

The policy statements were issued by the ministries in conjunction with the formal opening of Singapore's new parliament on Monday.



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