Minister calls for bigger subterranean Singapore

In his latest blog entry, Khaw says other countries have done much more with their underground space to enhance residents’ quality of life. Examples include Canada and Japan, whose cities have extensive pedestrian passages, shopping malls and offices underground. One of the “largest and most well-known” underground cities is Montreal’s RESO, he wrote. “It comprises 32km of tunnels covering about 12sq km in downtown Montreal, linking a wide range of facilities such as offices, hotels, retail shops, cinemas, universities and train stations. Half a million people use it every day.”

Singapore has made good use of underground spaces with shopping malls, MRT lines and expressways. But more can be done and the ministry is “thinking about the possibility of developing an underground equivalent of the Master Plan” even though these developments do cost more, wrote Khaw. “There are possibilities of creating underground transport hubs, pedestrian links, cycling lanes, utility plants, storage and research facilities, industrial uses, shopping areas and other public spaces here.”