Best of our wild blogs: 20 Aug 13

Save MacRitchie Forest: 17. A Pangolin came for a visit
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Sharks, Slugs & Suckerfish
from Pulau Hantu

Sunday 25th August Guided Walk with Fabian Tee
from a.t.Bukit Brown. Heritage. Habitat. History.

‘Reduce waste and still have an enjoyable holiday?’ Possible, says MNS Marine Group from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

Butterflies Galore!
from Butterflies of Singapore

Pangolin rehabilitation and release update
from EDGE Blog by Tran Quang Phuong

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Study finds cost of future flood losses in major coastal cities could be over $50 billion by 2050

e! Science News 19 Aug 13;

Climate change combined with rapid population increases, economic growth and land subsidence could lead to a more than nine-fold increase in the global risk of floods in large port cities between now and 2050. "Future Flood Losses in Major Coastal Cities," published in Nature Climate Change, is part of an ongoing project by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to explore the policy implications of flood risks due to climate change and economic development. This study builds on past OECD work which ranked global port cities on the basis of current and future exposure, where exposure is the maximum number of people or assets that could be affected by a flood.

The authors estimate present and future flood losses -- or the global cost of flooding -- in 136 of the world's largest coastal cities, taking into account existing coastal protections. Average global flood losses in 2005, estimated at about US$6 billion per year, could increase to US$52 billion by 2050 with projected socio-economic change alone.

The cities ranked most 'at risk' today, as measured by annual average losses due to floods, span developed and developing countries: Guangzhou, Miami, New York, New Orleans, Mumbai, Nagoya, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Boston, Shenzen, Osaka-Kobe, and Vancouver. The countries at greatest risk from coastal city flooding include the United States and China. Due to their high wealth and low protection level, three American cities (Miami, New York City and New Orleans) are responsible for 31 per cent of the losses across the 136 cities. Adding Guangzhou, the four top cities explain 43 per cent of global losses as of 2005.

Total dollar cost is one way to assess risk. Another is to look at annual losses as a percentage of a city's wealth, a proxy for local vulnerability. Using this measure, Guangzhou, China; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Abidjan, Ivory Coast are among the most vulnerable.

To estimate the impact of future climate change the study assumes that mean sea-level, including contributions from melting ice sheets, will rise 0.2-0.4 meters by 2050. In addition, about a quarter of the 136 cities are in deltas and exposed to local subsidence and local sea-level change, especially where groundwater extraction accelerate natural processes.

An important finding of this study is that, because flood defences have been designed for past conditions, even a moderate rise in sea-level would lead to soaring losses in the absence of adaptation. Inaction is not an option as it could lead to losses in excess of $US 1 trillion. Therefore, coastal cities will have to improve their flood management, including better defences, at a cost estimated around US$50 billion per year for the 136 cities.

Robert Nicholls, Professor of Coastal Engineering at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study, says: "This work shows that flood risk is rising in coastal cities globally due to a range of factors, including sea-level rise. Hence there is a pressing need to start planning how to manage flood risk now."

Even with better protection, the magnitude of losses will increase, often by more than 50 per cent, when a flood does occur. According to Dr Stephane Hallegatte, from the World Bank and lead author of the study: "There is a limit to what can be achieved with hard protection: populations and assets will remain vulnerable to defence failures or to exceptional events that exceed the protection design." To help cities deal with disasters when they do hit, policy makers should consider early warning systems, evacuation planning, more resilient infrastructure and financial support to rebuild economies.

The report also notes that large increases in port city flood risk may occur in locations that are not vulnerable today, catching citizens and governments' off-guard. The five cities with the largest estimated increase in flood risk in 2050 are Alexandria, Egypt; Barranquilla, Colombia; Naples, Italy; Sapporo, Japan; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Source: University of Southampton

Coastal Flooding Damage: $1 Trillion a Year by 2050
Tia Ghose LiveScience.com Yahoo News 18 Aug 13;

Coastal flooding in cities around the world could cause damage totaling $1 trillion annually by the year 2050 if no mitigating steps are taken, new research suggests.

Almost all cities facing the worst damage are in Asia and North America, the study showed. Three American cities — New York, New Orleans and Miami — are at particularly high risk of damage, according to the study, published today (Aug. 18) in the journal Nature Climate Change.

"If we did nothing about the risk, the flood damages in coastal cities would grow to huge amounts. So that's really not an option," said study co-author Robert Nicholls, a coastal engineering professor at the University of Southampton in England.

Damaging storms

Climate change models generally predict that storms will grow more frequent and fierce over the next several decades. We may already be seeing its impact: Many scientists believe that climate change worsened the toll of Hurricane Sandy. [How Weird!: 7 Rare Weather Events]

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, Nicholls and his colleagues realized that scientists had little idea which cities around the world were most vulnerable to flooding.

So the team compiled data on 136 coastal cities with more than 1 million residents, looking at the elevation of the cities, the population distribution and the types of flood protection they had, such as levees or storm-surge barriers.

They then combined that data with forecasts of sea level rise, ground sinking due to groundwater depletion, as well as population growth projections and economic forecasts of gross domestic product (GDP). From there, they used the depth of water flooding a city to estimate the cost of the damage.

Two vulnerable continents

The researchers found that in both their best- and worst-case projections of sea level rise, the yearly global cost reached higher than $1 trillion. The most vulnerable city was Guangzhou, China, followed by Mumbai and Kolkata in India, Guayaquil, Ecuador and Shenzen, China. Almost all cities at the highest risk of flooding damage were in North America or Asia. [See The 20 Cities Most Vulnerable to Flooding]

If cities take steps to prevent damage — by increasing the height of levees, erecting storm surge barriers, making buildings flood-resistant or converting flood-prone, low-lying areas to parks or football fields — the cost of the damage could be brought down to about $50 billion annually.

It would be cheaper and more sensible to make these changes before Katrina-like storm surges become the norm, Nicholls said.

"The bottom line is it shows that flood risk is rising today — it's happening" Nicholls told LiveScience. "All these cities need to be preparing for that."

Full study in Nature Climate Change

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End of the road for CNG as fuel for vehicles?

Popularity of the gas fizzles out as tariff, reduced rebates bite
Christopher Tan Straits Times 20 Aug 13;

FOUR years ago, Mr Teo Kiang Ang had high hopes for compressed natural gas (CNG) when he opened the world's largest CNG refuelling station in Old Toh Tuck Road.

He envisioned the 7,066 sq m facility - with 46 pumps - getting a counterpart in the eastern part of Singapore and his taxi company Trans-Cab operating a fleet of 8,000 CNG cabs by 2014.

Today, those dreams are dashed and he has switched gear.

Fewer than half of his 4,500-strong fleet run on CNG, there is no second station, and he has applied to the Government to convert his Toh Tuck premises to office space.

Mr Teo, who also owns cooking gas bottler Union Energy, said he may build his company's headquarters on the site.

"We still have about 2,000 CNG taxis," he said. "But in about three to four years, we will have none."

His dim view of CNG reflects how swiftly the popularity of the gas as an automotive fuel has fizzled out.

The number of CNG vehicles has been shrinking since the Government imposed a tariff on CNG in January last year, and replaced the previous Green Vehicle Rebate with a carbon-based incentive scheme.

The duty closed the gap between the prices of gas and traditional fuels, while the incentive plan reduced rebates for CNG cars, which the Government concluded were not significantly cleaner than petrol-driven cars.

Industry players and analysts also cite other reasons for CNG's fading presence.

Said Mr William Aw: "Singapore is the only place in the region where diesel is cheaper than CNG, so fleet operators like bus companies found no benefit in converting." He recently sold his share in CNG refueller Smart Energy, which operates two other CNG stations. A fourth, on Jurong Island, is operated by Sembcorp and is inaccessible to most users.

The pump price of CNG is about $1.73 a litre - 3.5 per cent higher than diesel and 21 per cent lower than 95-octane petrol, both of which are pre-discount prices.

In early 2009, CNG was 30 per cent cheaper than diesel and 43 per cent lower than 95-octane petrol. Often, the two conventional fuels also offer better efficiency.

Said Mr Aw: "It's sad. I believe in energy diversification. We can't rely on petrol and diesel alone. I hope there'll be a revival in interest and support for CNG."

But taxi operator and vehicle importer Neo Nam Heng is not optimistic. Fewer than 10 per cent of his fleet of about 900 Prime Taxi cabs run on CNG, down from 75 per cent in 2009.

"We've converted most of them to run only on petrol," he said, adding that CNG cabs break down more often and had to be refuelled more frequently. Also, CNG stations are few and far between.

Mr Gilbert von der Aue of C Melchers, an engineering company that is a leading supplier of CNG conversion kits and expertise, said CNG "cannot work without government support".

"There were plans to roll out gas pipelines but so far, there are gas pipes in only the western part of Singapore," he added.

Agreeing, executive director Clarence Woo of the Asian Clean Fuels Association said: "You can't leave new things to market forces. Without a strong (political) champion, it's hard for them to take off."

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Taiwan's Kuokuang Petrochemical scraps planned integrated project in Malaysia

Platts 19 Aug 13;

Taiwan's Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co has scrapped plans to set up an integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Pengerang in the Malaysian state of Johor due to poor project economics, an official from Kuokang shareholder state-owned CPC Corp. said Monday.

"It was meant to be using naphtha as a feedstock to produce ethylene, but because of the rise of shale gas as an alternative, the costs will be too high [to compete with other projects] and we won't be able to export the products," said the official, who declined to be named.

Kuokuang had submitted an environmental impact assessment report for the project to the Malaysian government in May, but the company's shareholders had already completed their feasibility study by then, deciding not to proceed with the project, she added.

"This has nothing to do with Malaysia but is based solely on the fact that the project would not be economically feasible," she said. "Right now we are waiting for the results of the report and the EIA process to be concluded. We had not proceeded beyond that so our costs were limited to just the feasibility study. We did not secure any land."

The results of the EIA report are expected in the coming days.

CPC is Kuokuang's largest stakeholder with 43%, with the rest held by other private Taiwanese companies.

Titled KPTC Malaysia Integrated Refinery and Petrochemical Development, or KPTC-MIRPD, the project was to have included a 150,000 b/d refinery, with development slated to begin by next year and startup scheduled for early 2018, the EIA report said. It was also expected to have the capacity to produce 800,000 mt/year of ethylene and 425,480 mt/year of propylene.

Kuokuang had originally announced a new petrochemical project in Changhua, Taiwan, but that plan was scrapped last year due to environmental concerns. Then, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced in May 2012 that Malaysia would work with Kuokuang to launch a project in the country.

The CPC official said Kuokuang will now evaluate its options and might concentrate on building a new petrochemicals project focusing on "value-added products" in Taiwan.

The Kuokuang project would have rivaled Malaysian state-owned Petronas' RAPID project, which is also planned in Pengerang. The integrated complex will include a 300,000 b/d refinery but has been plagued by delays, with first production now likely by the end of 2017, from an initial target of 2016.

Petronas is also planning for naphtha to underpin its 3 million mt/year steam cracker to produce ethylene, propylene and olefins.

The increased supply of NGLs and associated ethane is expected to be used as the primary feedstock for new steam cracker projects in the medium term. In contrast, naphtha is more than three times more expensive than ethane.

Bentek Energy, a unit of Platts, expects NGLs production in the US to increase by 1.5 million b/d between 2012 and 2018. The glut of ethane has provided steam cracker operators with a cost advantage compared with producers running naphtha-fed units and has prompted renewed investment from companies including BASF, Dow, CP Chem and LyondelBasell.

--Song Yen Ling

--Edited by Meghan Gordon

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Philippines' Cebu declares calamity as sunken ferry leaks oil in pristine waters

Rolando Ng Reuters 19 Aug 13;

(Reuters) - The central Philippine province of Cebu, famous among divers around the world for its clear waters and coral reefs, declared a state of calamity on Monday as an oil slick from a ferry that sank late last week spread to about 20 percent of the coast.

A 40-year-old ferry owned by 2GO Group Inc sank about a kilometer offshore on Friday after a collision with a cargo vessel. At least 52 people were killed and 68 were still missing, officials said.

The ferry was also carrying 120,000 liters of bunker fuel, 20,000 liters of lube oil and 20,000 liters of diesel fuel when it sank. The 2GO Group said it believes only the lube oil and diesel fuel were leaking.

The oil slick had reached Cordova municipality and Lapu-Lapu City, both on Mactan island, home to five-star beach front resorts.

Lantao town in Cordova, known for its seafood restaurants, was now surrounded by oil, said its mayor Adelino Sitoy.

A sheen of oil also covers at least 10 to 20 hectares of mangrove plantations in Cordova, and a member of a local marine watch group said rehabilitation of the area would be costly.

"We have no livelihood now because no one will buy the fish we haul, with a lot of bodies still in the water and oil in the sea," Ernesto Cabiso, 49, a Cordova fisherman, told Reuters.

Authorities were using chemicals to disperse the oil.

Coast guard teams were conducting manual clean up in areas affected by the oil spill, said Commodore William Melad, head of the coast guard district in the central Visayas region.

The 2GO group has brought in international oil spill experts to help in the clean-up and deployed a 400-litre oil spill boom in the area, said Lito Salvio, an assistant vice president at the shipping firm.

(Additional reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Philippine floods kill three, paralyse capital

Jason Gutierrez AFP Yahoo News 21 Aug 13

Chaotic urban planning is widely blamed for exacerbating the impacts of storms in Manila and other parts of the country, which has had to deal with massive population growth over the past generation. Widespread deforestation, the conversion of wetlands to farms or cities, and the clogging up of natural drainage systems with garbage are some of the factors that worsen floods.

At least three people have died in the Philippines after torrential rain engulfed parts of the main island of Luzon including Manila where neck-deep water swept through homes forcing thousands into emergency shelters.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said mountainous areas to the north of the island were experiencing floods of 1.8 metres (six feet), following persistent rain that began at the weekend.

One person was killed in a storm-related car accident in the northern Apayao mountain region while a child was crushed by a collapsing wall and a man drowned in towns just outside the capital.

Four other people are missing including three washed away by floods and overflowing rivers and a local female tourist who got lost while exploring a cave in the northern resort town of Sagada.

In the capital Manila, a megacity of 12 million people, schools, government offices and the stock exchange were closed as a red alert was raised in the morning -- the highest level of a warning system in which widespread floods are predicted.

"We are trying to save whatever we can. But it was so sudden," J.R Pascual, a father-of-four, told AFP as he tried to take the most important possessions from his home that was flooded up to his waist.

"My neighbour wasn't even able to get his car out."

Pascual lives in a middle-class district of Cavite, a coastal area that is about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the heart of Manila.

Roads from Cavite and other southern areas into the city were impassable, while some motorists who tried to get through the flooded streets were forced to abandon their cars.

Footage on ABS-CBN television showed people in nearby shanty town communities standing on their corrugated iron roofs, as fast-moving water swept through the windows of their homes.

By early afternoon, the rain had eased and the red alert was lowered for the capital.

One of President Benigno Aquino's top aides said he did not expect a major disaster.

"Compared to other calamities, this is not of the same gravity as the rest. I hope this will be done by tomorrow," Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa told a nationally televised government disaster briefing.

Nevertheless, thousands of people were believed to be sheltering in evacuation centres or trapped on rooftops while waiting for the water to subside.

Weather forecasters also said more rain was expected to hit Manila and regions to its north in the early evening.

The flooding was due to the normal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami, which was causing problems despite being more than 500 kilometres (300 miles) from the Philippines, weather forecasters said.

The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them are deadly.

In August last year, 51 people died and two million others were affected when more than a month's worth of rain was dumped in and around Manila in 48 hours.

One of the most devastating storms to hit the capital was in 2009, when Tropical Storm Ketsana led to 80 percent of the capital being submerged.

It was immediately followed by Tropical Storm Parma, and more than 1,100 people died in the back-to-back disasters.

Chaotic urban planning is widely blamed for exacerbating the impacts of storms in Manila and other parts of the country, which has had to deal with massive population growth over the past generation.

Widespread deforestation, the conversion of wetlands to farms or cities, and the clogging up of natural drainage systems with garbage are some of the factors that worsen floods.

The deadliest storm in the world last year occurred in the Philippines, when Typhoon Bopha left more than 1,000 dead and 800 others missing in the south of the country.

The southern areas are usually spared from the typhoons, and communities there were unprepared for Bopha.

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Vietnam national park becomes ASEAN heritage park

Thanhniennews.com 13 Aug 13;

U Minh Thuong National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has been named an Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Heritage Park.

It is Vietnam's fifth ASEAN Heritage Park.

Hoang Lien Sa Park in the northern province of Lao Cai, Ba Be Park in the northern province of Bac Kan, and Kon Ka Kinh Park and Chu Mom Ray park in the Central Highlands provinces of Kon Tum and Gia Lai, respectively, are all on the list.

U Minh Thuong park has been praised by the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and the secretariat of the ASEAN Heritage Parks Programme for its biodiversity.

The park covers over 21,000 hectares in An Minh Bac and Minh Thuan communes in U Minh Thuong Town.

Its core zone includes 8,038 hectares and the rest is forest buffer. Featuring a primeval forest, of which 3,000 hectares are mangrove trees, U Minh Thuong park has an extremely rare tropical wetlands forest ecosystem.

Widely considered the richest region in terms of plant and animal life in the Mekong Delta, the park has more than 243 species of plants, 32 species of mammals, 186 bird species, 39 reptile species and 34 amphibian species. Many species of wildlife in the park are endangered and must be strictly protected.

ASEAN Heritage Parks Programs are representative of efforts to conserve areas of particular biodiversity throughout ASEAN.

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Experts surer of manmade global warming but local predictions elusive

Alister Doyle Reuters 19 Aug 13;

Experts surer of manmade global warming but local predictions elusive Photo: David Gray
North and South Tarawa are seen from the air in the central Pacific island nation of Kiribati May 23, 2013.
Photo: David Gray

Climate scientists are surer than ever that human activity is causing global warming, according to leaked drafts of a major U.N. report, but they are finding it harder than expected to predict the impact in specific regions in coming decades.

The uncertainty is frustrating for government planners: the report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the main guide for states weighing multi-billion-dollar shifts to renewable energy from fossil fuels, for coastal regions considering extra sea defenses or crop breeders developing heat-resistant strains.

Drafts seen by Reuters of the study by the U.N. panel of experts, due to be published next month, say it is at least 95 percent likely that human activities - chiefly the burning of fossil fuels - are the main cause of warming since the 1950s.

That is up from at least 90 percent in the last report in 2007, 66 percent in 2001, and just over 50 in 1995, steadily squeezing out the arguments by a small minority of scientists that natural variations in the climate might be to blame.

That shifts the debate onto the extent of temperature rises and the likely impacts, from manageable to catastrophic. Governments have agreed to work out an international deal by the end of 2015 to rein in rising emissions.

"We have got quite a bit more certain that climate change ... is largely manmade," said Reto Knutti, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. "We're less certain than many would hope about the local impacts."

And gauging how warming would affect nature, from crops to fish stocks, was also proving hard since it goes far beyond physics. "You can't write an equation for a tree," he said.

The IPCC report, the first of three to be released in 2013 and 2014, will face intense scrutiny, particularly after the panel admitted a mistake in the 2007 study which wrongly predicted that all Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035. Experts say the error far overestimated the melt and might have been based on a misreading of 2350.

The new study will state with greater confidence than in 2007 that rising manmade greenhouse gas emissions have already meant more heatwaves. But it is likely to play down some tentative findings from 2007, such as that human activities have contributed to more droughts.

Almost 200 governments have agreed to try to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, seen as a threshold for dangerous changes including more droughts, extinctions, floods and rising seas that could swamp coastal regions and entire island nations.

The report will flag a high risk that global temperatures will increase this century by more than that level, and will say that evidence of rising sea levels is now "unequivocal".

For all that, scientists say it is proving harder to pinpoint local impacts in coming decades in a way that would help planners.

Drew Shindell, a NASA climate scientist, said the relative lack of progress in regional predictions was the main disappointment of climate science since 2007.

"I talk to people in regional power planning. They ask: 'What's the temperature going to be in this region in the next 20-30 years, because that's where our power grid is?'" he said.

"We can't really tell. It's a shame," said Shindell. Like the other scientists interviewed, he was speaking about climate science in general since the last IPCC report, not about the details of the latest drafts.

WARMING SLOWING

The panel will try to explain why global temperatures, while still increasing, have risen more slowly since about 1998 even though greenhouse gas concentrations have hit repeated record highs in that time, led by industrial emissions by China and other emerging nations.

An IPCC draft says there is "medium confidence" that the slowing of the rise is "due in roughly equal measure" to natural variations in the weather and to other factors affecting energy reaching the Earth's surface.

Scientists believe causes could include: greater-than-expected quantities of ash from volcanoes, which dims sunlight; a decline in heat from the sun during a current 11-year solar cycle; more heat being absorbed by the deep oceans; or the possibility that the climate may be less sensitive than expected to a build-up of carbon dioxide.

"It might be down to minor contributions that all add up," said Gabriele Hegerl, a professor at Edinburgh University. Or maybe, scientists say, the latest decade is just a blip.

The main scenarios in the draft, using more complex computer models than in 2007 and taking account of more factors, show that temperatures could rise anywhere from a fraction of 1 degree Celsius (1.8 Fahrenheit) to almost 5C (9F) this century, a wider range at both ends than in 2007.

The low end, however, is because the IPCC has added what diplomats say is an improbable scenario for radical government action - not considered in 2007 - that would require cuts in global greenhouse gases to zero by about 2070.

Temperatures have already risen by 0.8C (1.4F) since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.

Experts say that the big advance in the report, due for a final edit by governments and scientists in Stockholm from September 23-26, is simply greater confidence about the science of global warming, rather than revolutionary new findings.

SEA LEVELS

"Overall our understanding has strengthened," said Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University, pointing to areas including sea level rise.

An IPCC draft projects seas will rise by between 29 and 82 cm (11.4 to 32.3 inches) by the late 21st century - above the estimates of 18 to 59 cm in the last report, which did not fully account for changes in Antarctica and Greenland.

The report slightly tones down past tentative findings that more intense tropical cyclone are linked to human activities. Warmer air can contain more moisture, however, making downpours more likely in future.

"There is widespread agreement among hurricane scientists that rainfall associated with hurricanes will increase noticeably with global warming," said Kerry Emanuel, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"But measuring rainfall is very tricky," he said.

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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Best of our wild blogs: 19 Aug 13

Latest Green Jobs in Singapore [12 - 18 Aug 2013]
from Green Business Times

NDP Rally speech and Singapore's shores
from wild shores of singapore

Paradise crossed
from The annotated budak

The Wild Side of Singapore!
from Dragonflies & Damselflies of Singapore

Dive against debris? Strive against debris!
from MNS Marine Group, Selangor Branch

Keyhole Sand Dollar
from Monday Morgue

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Paya Lebar Air Base to move to Changi, and Southern Waterfront City

Amir Hussain Today Online 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE — A new air base and a fourth runway will be built at Changi East, with the Paya Lebar Air Base to be moved to Changi later on, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally speech.

The move will not only free up a large 800 hectare area in Paya Lebar — an area bigger than Bishan or Ang Mo Kio — for new homes, offices, factories and parks, it will also remove height restrictions on a large area around Paya Lebar.

This would free up land to “develop new, exciting plans for the big chunk of eastern Singapore going down to Marina and Marina South”, Mr Lee said, adding that the full changes will take place 20, 30 years later. “The potential is there, we can dream,” he said.

Opened on Aug 20, 1955, to replace the old Kallang Airport, the Paya Lebar Airport became a base of the Republic of Singapore Air Force when Changi Airport opened in 1981. Besides being a venue for previous RSAF Open Houses, the air base also houses the Air Force Museum.

The plans are on top of earlier announcements to consolidate all port operations in Singapore that are currently spread across Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang to Tuas, which will also free up space for developments, Mr Lee noted.

These port leases will end from 2027 onwards. The new port will be “bigger and more efficient, almost double the present capacity and then ... make sure business stays here,” the Prime Minister said.

With the prime land in Tanjong Pagar freed up, Singapore can then build a new Southern Waterfront City, the size of 1,000 hectares or 2.5 Marina Bays, stretching “all the way from Shenton Way to Pasir Panjang, from the east all the way to the west.”

In sketching out these possibilities, the Prime Minister said the ambitious, long-term plans reflect “our fundamental mindset and spirit — to be confident, to look ahead, to aim high”.

“If we can carry off these plans, we will not have to worry about running out of space or possibilities for Singapore. We are not at the limits. The sky is the limit,” Mr Lee said.

“We are creating possibilities for the future. We are opening up opportunities for our children, for their children to continue to build, to upgrade, to reinvent our city for many more years to come,” he added.

While very few countries or cities anywhere in the world can think or plan over such a long term, Mr Lee noted that “this is how we got here, and this is what we must do to be here tomorrow, next year and for many more years to come.”

New terminal to double Changi Airport’s capacity
Amir Hussain Today Online 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE — A new terminal will be built at Changi by the mid-2020s to double the airport’s current capacity, allowing it to stay ahead of regional competition and create more opportunities for Singaporeans.

Announcing this at the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong noted that Changi, which handled 51 million passengers last year, is approaching its limits as an air travel boom lifts passenger traffic. Singaporeans are travelling all over the world, he said, along with others in Asia as incomes across the continent rise.

He gave as an example his recent holiday in Japan, during which he visited Mount Fuji and encountered more Singaporeans than Japanese on the iconic peak.

Mr Lee said other regional airports are expanding to take advantage of the opportunities created by the boom in air travel: Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi are both aiming to serve 100 million passengers a year.

But while they are both geographically better placed to be South-east Asia’s air hub, he said, they are not Changi, and that makes a difference.

“The question,” he asked, “is whether we want to stay a vibrant hub in South-east Asia, or let others take over our position, our business, and our jobs?”

His answer: “I think we must be part of this growth, plan ahead and continually build up Changi.”

Mr Lee, who sketched out plans already afoot to upgrade the airport, including building the new T4 terminal, noted that while Changi is an icon of Singapore, it is more than an emotional symbol.

“It is how the world comes to Singapore and how Singaporeans connect to the world,” he said, adding that it is a reason “we thrive as an international hub for business, trade and tourism”.

The airport and related services provide 163,000 jobs and account for 6 per cent of GDP, he said.

Building T5, which he described as “sounding like a terminal, but actually, it’s a whole airport by itself, as big as today’s Changi Airport”, will allow Singapore to keep its pole position as an international hub.

The move to build the new terminal, the Prime Minister said, is among the “tangible things” being done to build the city and improve the living environment.

Citing Punggol Waterway, the Jurong Lake District and Sports Hub as other examples of this, Mr Lee also announced that there would be another project to transform Changi Airport.

Code-named “Project Jewel”, it will involve converting the open-air car park into an oasis of sorts.

As an animated artist’s impression of what appeared to be a glass-encased dome flashed on the giant screen behind him, Mr Lee said “Project Jewel” would expand T1’s capacity and would have shops, restaurants and an indoor garden.

This “Gardens by the Airport”, he said, would not be just for visitors, but would be for Singaporeans who want a day out, newlyweds taking bridal photos and, he quipped, students studying.

During his speech, Mr Lee also touched on a personal connection to Changi Airport.

Noting that the country’s first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had pushed for it to be built against the advice of experts who recommended that the old Paya Lebar Airport be expanded, he said he was a “guinea pig” for Changi.

He revealed how he was among the first passengers to use Changi Airport in 1981, when he was still with the Singapore Armed Forces, and took off on a test flight before it opened to help test the systems.

Mr Lee returned to Singapore a few weeks later, after the move from Paya Lebar was completed, and found Changi to be a vast improvement over the old airport.

ND Rally: Further plans to redevelop Changi Airport
Channel NewsAsia 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE: Passing on a better Singapore to future generations than what has been inherited, said Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong -- that is what the country will do as it continues to create more opportunities and build for the very long-term.

Among them are plans to further redevelop Changi Airport.

Changi Airport has been progressively upgraded since its humble beginnings in 1981.

Mr Lee said it has become part of the Singapore identity. It is also a symbol of renewal and change.

The airport came about after former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had the vision in the 1970s for the old RAF Changi Air Base to become an international airport, replacing Paya Lebar.

Today, Changi Airport is approaching its limits -- handling 51 million passengers in 2012. Capacity will be increased when Terminal 4 is ready by 2017.

Mr Lee said: "Kuala Lumpur International Airport -- they are planning to service 100 million passengers per year. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is also aiming for 100 million passengers a year.

"Both of them are geographically better placed than Singapore to be the hub in Southeast Asia because from Europe to Southeast Asia to the far east -- whether its Hong Kong, Japan or China -- Kuala Lumpur is nearer and Bangkok is nearer still. But we are the hub. Why? Because they are not Changi Airport... That makes a difference!"

More will be done to ensure Singapore remains an international hub, like redeveloping the carpark at Terminal 1 into a 'Jewel'.

Mr Lee said: "'Project Jewel'... will expand Terminal 1. Terminal 1 will be connected with it as to with the other (terminals), but it will have shops, restaurants and a beautiful indoor garden. We have Gardens by the Bay, this one is Gardens at the Airport. Not just for visitors, but for Singaporeans too -- families on Sunday outings, students maybe studying for exams and newlyweds taking bridal photos."

By the mid-2020s, Mr Lee said Changi's current capacity will be doubled when Terminal 5 is ready.

Beyond that, there will be a new Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) air base and fourth runway at Changi East. Paya Lebar Airbase will move to Changi, freeing up 800 hectares of land.

The area which is bigger than the size of Bishan can be used to build new homes, offices and factories. Mr Lee said relocating the air base also removes height restrictions on a large area around Paya Lebar. This will allow for new, exciting plans for eastern Singapore.

Singapore also wants to maintain its position as a leading world port. For this, there will be a new port in Tuas.

The container ports at Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang will move to Tuas when their leases expire from 2027 onwards. This will free up prime land for the building of a new Southern Waterfront City.

Mr Lee said these are ambitious long-term plans which will create possibilities and opportunities for the future.

He said: "These are not plans, these are acts of faith in Singapore and in ourselves. Faith that a generation from now, Singapore will still be here and will still be worth investing in for the sake of our children and their grandchildren. Faith -- that we can thrive in the world, whatever the challenges and hold our own against the competition -- bigger, stronger, but we are there."

That faith, Mr Lee said, was vividly expressed in the National Day Parade in the singing of the anthem, reciting the pledge, the radiant faces of participants, and the response of the crowds.

He said: "Watching them, feeling them, made me and my colleagues more determined to do the best for Singaporeans. They bolstered our conviction that it's worth doing and we can do it."

Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to work with the government to create a better future for all.

- CNA/ac


Changi expansion sign of faith in Singapore's future

Other plans include moving Paya Lebar Airbase to Changi East
Karamjit Kaur Straits Times 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE is embarking on the largest expansion of its iconic Changi Airport and the plans include two new terminals and a complex codenamed Jewel that will adorn the east with its shops, restaurants and indoor garden.

Terminal 4 will be ready by 2017. When Terminal 5 is completed in about a decade, it will double the airport's existing capacity of 66 million passengers a year.

"And we have one more trick, outside T1," Mr Lee said. "We will build something special."

Where an open-air carpark now sits in front of the airport's first and oldest terminal, a multi- storey complex codenamed Jewel will be built.

"So we have Gardens by the Bay, this one is Gardens at the Airport!" Mr Lee said.

He also announced plans to move Paya Lebar Airbase to Changi East after 2030. That will free 800ha of land, bigger than the size of Ang Mo Kio, for new homes, offices and factories.

The moving of the military facility, which is the largest of four airbases run by the Republic of Singapore Air Force, will also remove height restrictions on large areas around Paya Lebar.

This "frees us to develop new, exciting plans for the big chunk of eastern Singapore...

"You are talking about 2030 and beyond and it won't fully happen for maybe 20, 30 years after that... But the potential is there. We can dream."

A fourth runway will also be built at Changi East - the location for the airport's future Terminal 5. Changi is expanding to meet growing traffic but so are other airports, Mr Lee stressed.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi are gearing up to serve 100 million passengers each a year.

Both are geographically better placed than Singapore to be the region's air hub, he said.

"But we are the hub. Why? Because they are not Changi Airport! That makes a difference," he said to rousing applause.

These are very ambitious and long-term infrastructure projects, Mr Lee said, but they are not merely plans.

"These are acts of faith - in Singapore and in ourselves," he added.

They reflect "our fundamental mindset and spirit - to be confident, to look ahead, to aim high".

"We are creating possibilities for the future. We are opening up opportunities for our children, for their children to continue to build, to upgrade, to reinvent this city for many more years to come."

There are few countries that can think or plan over such a long term but Singapore has been able to do so, he observed.

Changi Airport was the result of such long-term thinking. It exists because in the 1970s, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew had the vision and pushed for it, against external experts' advice.

Today, Changi Airport is an icon to travellers, and for Singaporeans, it is a welcome landmark when they return home.

"But Changi Airport is more than an emotional symbol... It is why we thrive as an international hub for business, for trade, for tourism."

Container port operations will also move to Tuas, freeing up prime land in Tanjong Pagar.

"If we can carry off these plans, we don't have to worry about running out of space or possibilities for Singapore.

"We are not at the limits. The sky is the limit," he said.


A first look at Changi Airport’s new ‘Jewel’
Today Online 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE — The Changi Airport Group (CAG) today (Aug 19) released its concept plans for “Project Jewel”, a mixed-use complex linking Terminals 1, 2 and 3 with the architect behind the Marina Bay Sands leading the team of design consultants.

To be built on a 3.5-hectare plot of land, in place of the open-air car park in front of Terminal 1, Project Jewel will be seamlessly connected to Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

Project Jewel is being drawn up by a consortium of design consultants led by world renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who designed the Marina Bay Sands, and comprising Benoy and local architects RSP.

Project Jewel is being designed to be architecturally iconic, with a stunning glass and steel façade that presents an impressive view of the complex — from both Airport Boulevard and from above. A key feature of the complex is a large-scale, lush indoor garden with a breathtaking waterfall.

CAG said that it is working with CapitaMalls Asia — one of the largest listed shopping mall developers, owners and managers in Asia — on the concept and plans of Project Jewel.

The two parties are also exploring a joint venture partnership to develop and manage Project Jewel when it is completed. This process is expected to be concluded by the end of the year.

In a release, CAG said that it envisages Project Jewel to be a world-class, signature lifestyle destination that will capture the imagination of tourists and promises to be a destination for Singaporeans as well.

The complex, which will sit on a new multi-storey basement car park, will offer aviation and travel-related facilities, a wide range of retail offerings and unique leisure attractions.

“We are very excited about this opportunity to create at Changi Airport an iconic global attraction that will capture the hearts of both tourists and Singaporeans,” said Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CAG’s Chief Executive Officer.

“For tourists, we envisage Project Jewel to be a must-visit Singapore attraction, located strategically at the doorstep of one of the world’s busiest air hubs, and an extension of the Changi brand promise that many travellers worldwide have come to know us for.

“For Singaporeans, it will be an exciting world-class destination right here at home, where they can relax and enjoy with their loved ones, again and again.”

As part of the redevelopment, T1 will also be expanded to allow more space for the arrival hall, baggage claim areas and taxi bays to increase the terminal’s passenger handling capacity to 24 million passengers per year.

When completed, Project Jewel, together with Terminal 4, will boost Changi Airport’s handling capacity to 85 million passenger movements a year. CAG plans to increase its staff strength by about 180 over the next four years, with around 80 new employees to be recruited during the course of this year alone, to staff the teams working on these two developments as well as other upcoming infrastructure projects.

Project Jewel was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in yesterday’s National Day Rally. Mr Lee also said that Changi Airport will be getting a fifth terminal by the mid-2020s.

New town could be built when Paya Lebar Air Base moves to Changi: analysts
Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE: Property analysts expect a new town to be built on the area once Paya Lebar Air Base has moved to Changi.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced that a new military airbase and fourth runway will be built at Changi East.

800 hectares will be freed up -- an area bigger than Bishan and Toa Payoh.

Analysts said such an area is enough to draw up a masterplan integrating residential, entertainment, and commercial developments. They believe it will probably take another 20 years for the new township to be developed.

Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants, said: "Based on the plot ratios and planning parameters, that plot of land can actually potentially build about 50,000 to 60,000 new homes.

"80 per cent of these new homes could be HDB flats and there could also be accompanying facilities such as commercial developments and parks, schools."

Relocating the airbase also removes height restrictions around Paya Lebar.

Ku Swee Yong, CEO of International Property Advisor, said: "In the case of HDB flats, for example around Paya Lebar Air Base, we now have flats in Aljunied and in Tampines going at about 12 to 15 stories. That could now be a thing of the past.

"New flats build there could be 30 to 40 stories as an average height, as well as new condominiums, new office towers -- (all of them) could go up to that height."

Presently, many warehouses are located near the airbase. Property watchers said these industrial areas may also be expanded.

Residents in Paya Lebar also welcomed the news of the move.

"There's going to be (a new) development after that. -- so it's probably going to help us in terms of the property prices," said one resident.

The Paya Lebar Air Base was originally built in 1955 as Singapore International Airport. The airforce took over the airbase when Changi Airport opened in 1981. The airbase hosted the previous RSAF Open House, and also houses the Air Force Museum.

- CNA/ac

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Volunteer youth corps to help ‘change Singapore’

Today Online 19 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE — With many young Singaporeans participating in community projects here and abroad, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday the Government will set up a volunteer youth corps to tap their idealism, energy and passion to “change Singapore and the world for the better”.

The youth corps will help by directing resources to young Singaporeans — especially students in the vocational and tertiary institutes — in the form of funding for projects, time off for full-time community service, as well as grants to continue serving the community after graduation, he said. Mentors will also be on hand to guide and advise these volunteers.

The initiative will match youths with “critical community needs” and help them “make a difference to our nation”, said Mr Lee.

Project NEPAL (Never Ending Passion and Love), which was started last year by Singapore Polytechnic students, was one of the examples that Mr Lee cited of young Singaporeans who were “doing good work”.

Some 30 students, alumni and lecturers visited Shree Janakalyan Lower Secondary School in Nagarkot village in Nepal in the project’s first expedition in March last year. They conducted science practical lessons, organised sports and art and craft lessons, and constructed a classroom and a rainwater harvesting system for the school.

The fifth and sixth trips under the project, which is part of the Youth Expedition Project under the National Youth Council, will take place next month and plans are already in place for a seventh trip next year.

ND Rally: New volunteer youth corps to be set up
Tan Qiuyi Channel NewsAsia 18 Aug 13;

SINGAPORE: A new volunteer youth corps will be set up to give young people more opportunities to work in the community.

There will also be resources like allowances for young Singaporeans who take time off to do community service full time, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in his National Day Rally Speech on Sunday.
Mr Lee noted that there are many young people doing good work in the community.

And he paid tribute to Singaporeans who have contributed in their own way, whether it was during the haze episode in June, or in volunteer projects overseas.

The government, he said, will do more to help those who want to serve.

Mr Lee said: "We want to encourage more young people to build a better world, and a better Singapore. You are our future, you're idealistic, full of energy and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the world, for the better."

The new volunteer youth corps will give young Singaporeans, especially those in polytechnics, Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs) and universities, more opportunities and funding to run community projects.

And for those who intend to contribute full time, there's help coming in -- in the form of an allowance.

The youth corps will also match volunteers with critical needs in the community, which is especially important for those who are starting out.

Mentors will also be available to guide and advise young volunteers.

- CNA/al

Govt to fund volunteer youth corps
Elgin Toh Straits Times 19 Aug 13;

A VOLUNTEER youth corps will be set up to help spur the young to make a bigger difference to Singapore and to the world.

It is for those keen on community service and will be established and funded by the Government.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, in announcing the move yesterday, urged young people to step up: "You are our future. You are idealistic, full of energy and passion. Go forth, change Singapore, change the world, for the better."

The new body will expand opportunities for community service in Singapore for young people, especially students from the Institute of Technical Education, polytechnics and universities. They may receive funding to start projects and, if necessary, be given time off from school to work full-time on community projects.

Grants will also be available for those who continue to be involved in the projects after graduation.

Young Singaporeans will receive guidance from mentors and be matched to areas where the community's needs are especially critical.

Young people who want to serve abroad can seek aid from the Youth Expedition Project, which will now be part of the new corps. The project, started in 2000, has supported more than 26,000 young people on 1,300 expeditions around Asia.

Among them is Ms Amanda Teng from Singapore Polytechnic, who went with fellow students to Nepal to build a classroom and a water system using rainwater.

"At first, the children looked at us funny because of the way we dressed and how we seemed to be from a different world. But when I was leaving, a 10-year-old boy, Galchen, cried," said the 19-year-old, who was in Nepal for two weeks.

"What I learnt was: the kids there don't have the best things but were very contented. Singaporeans should learn to appreciate better what we have."

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Malaysia: Peat fires in Selangor contributing to worsening haze

New Straits Times 8 Aug 13;

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor Fire and Rescue Department has been struggling to put out peat fires at several areas in the state since Aug 8.

The department's operations assistant director, Mohamad Sani Harul, said the department receives 30 to 40 calls a day.

"We regret that most of the fires were started by irresponsible individuals. In some areas, we found that local residents started the fire themselves in order to clear their farm land."

A check around Shah Alam and the North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite Highway) yesterday revealed signs of haze, which limited the vision of road users.

Mohamad Sani said the department had to freeze the leave of the state's firemen during Hari Raya as they had to be deployed to fight fires at Bestari Jaya, Kuala Selangor and Pulau Kempas, Banting.

He explained that sufficient manpower was necessary as peat fires took a long time to be extinguished, and the ground had to be dug up to ensure the fire was really out.

He said the department had been working together with the Environmental Department, Public Defence Department, Forestry Department and various local councils to tackle the problem.

Regarding prosecution of those who started fires, Mohamad Sani said the Environmental Department had the jurisdiction to do so.

As of 3pm yesterday, the air pollutant index (API) in Kuala Selangor stood at 47, Shah Alam (54), Banting (56), while Putrajaya recorded an API level of 97.

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