Parliament passes changes to Land Acquisition Act, State Lands Act

Eileen Poh Channel NewsAsia 13 Mar 14;

SINGAPORE: Changes to two Acts were passed in Parliament on Friday (Mar 13) to help the Government better plan for the long-term use of Singapore's underground space.

The Land Acquisition Act was amended, giving the Government flexibility to acquire a specific stratum of space, for instance, a pocket of underground space, instead of the entire column of land, when developing public projects.

And under changes to the State Lands Act, landowners own underground space up to a depth of 30 metres under the Singapore Height Datum (SHD).

Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law, said current laws mark out boundaries of land ownership for surface land, but not so for underground space. The change will not affect how landowners currently use and develop underground space, said Ms Indranee.

Basements of developments in Singapore generally extend to about 15 metres underground.

"To provide a point of comparison, the Orchard ION building has four basement levels, which extend to only about 10 metres below the SHD. The deepest basement in Singapore at Fusionopolis is 15 metres below the SHD, Ms Indranee said".

She also noted: "Underground land can also be developed to build extensive pedestrian connections between transport nodes and high-traffic areas, thereby improving connectivity for commuters and residents alike. These developments will benefit all Singaporeans.

“To enable Singapore to put underground space to more productive use, it is necessary to update the legislative framework to clarify the ownership of underground space."

- CNA/ms