Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia 19 Oct 08;
SINGAPORE: With rising construction costs and a space crunch in Singapore, local researchers are exploring cheaper alternatives to land reclamation.
One option is what's called very large floating structures that can literally support cities on water. One company is even exploring the idea of floating dormitories for foreign workers.
The concept of using floating structures is not new. In Singapore, there is already the Marina Bay Floating Platform.
Professor Wang Chien Ming, director of engineering science programme at the National University of Singapore, said: "People have been talking about ultra large floating platforms being situated near the equatorial belt where there's no typhoons, no hurricanes.
"The floating structures could be placed in a very calm sea environment and then you can tap on the energy from the sun... it (a floating city) can be self contained."
Most floating structures will come with a mooring system, a breakwater and an access bridge or a berth. And even though the structures could be made of steel and concrete, they can still float on water. It is all in the "law of Physics," said Prof Wang.
He lists out the advantages of using floating structures. They include a relatively short construction period of 4 to 5 months; such expandable structures are immune to the effects of rising sea levels since the mega floats rise in tandem with the water; and compared to land reclamation, mega floating structures could cost about a third less.
Some people say the sea is prime real estate. Now, imagine dormitories housing 4,000 to 5,000 people out in the open sea. Of course, these have to be sustainable - hooked up to a power source and water supply.
That could work for Singapore, said one company that develops and manages foreign worker dormitories.
Mini Environment Service Pte Ltd's director of business development, A Mohamed Ali, said: "Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to how many people you can hold. You can have a country built on a sea. Theoretically, of course!
"And because it's modular, you can literally add on (facilities)... We're looking at facilities like malls, post offices, remittance centres, anything that will serve the foreign worker community."
He does not see housing foreign workers off-shore as being segregation between such workers and Singaporeans. "If the design and the facilities are good, it won't be stigmatised that way and the motivation is not really to ship anyone out; it is to find an alternative. There is a need to find an alternative."
If the idea takes off, the dormitory would be the first of its kind in the world to house such a huge community on water.
Another company that is exploring the use of mega floating structures is JTC Corporation. It is thinking of using such structures to store petrochemical and oil products.
NUS' Prof Wang said the cost of building such a structure could be about S$200 million.
- CNA/ir
