Creating a 'city in a garden'

Cheryl Lim Straits Times 13 Oct 11;

THE Oriental Pied Hornbill, long one of Singapore's resident birds, was once thought extinct here, but conservation efforts by the Government have let the species rebuild its presence.

There are now almost 100 hornbills across the island, thanks to a reintroduction programme which started in 2008, according to the National Parks Board.

In his addendum yesterday to the President's Address on Monday, National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said such efforts would be part of his ministry's broader focus on greening Singapore and creating a 'city in a garden'.

Aside from the upcoming Gardens by the Bay project, Mr Khaw also offered a glimpse of the green projects to come.

'We will create an extensive network of regional and neighbourhood parks, streetscape and skyrise greenery. We will embed greenery into our city and HDB towns,' he said.

'Our park connectors will link up parks and green spaces within neighbourhoods... Daily close encounters with nature will be Singaporeans' way of life.'

Mr Khaw singled out two eco projects as examples of communities taking greater ownership of their living space.

The Rail Corridor has brought Singaporeans together to co-create a green 'spine' from the 26km stretch of former Malaysian Railway land.

And moves to keep the kampung spirit alive can be seen in the Punggol Waterway development, which includes public spaces along the 4.2km waterway.

Mr Khaw added that he would ramp up efforts to make buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly through programmes like the Green Mark Scheme, set up in 2005 to measure the environmental sustainability of buildings.

Figures from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) show that more than 840 projects have been awarded the Green Mark certification.

The scheme has evolved in tandem with the changing needs of Singapore's built-up environment, and is now included under the Green Building Masterplan.

Mr Khaw also added that the construction industry's productivity and capabilities will be raised to keep pace with the rising number of complex projects carried out here.

The BCA aims to raise the sector's productivity by up to 25 per cent over the next decade - a big leap from the annual average growth of 0.5 per cent recorded over the past 10 years.

It is part of the larger Construction Productivity Roadmap that also includes the $250 million Construction Productivity and Capability Fund.

The fund helps companies looking to switch to more labour-efficient construction technologies.

Since the fund's inception last June, more than $26 million has been committed to about 900 companies.