Retain ECP’s recreational value, minimise impact on nature, among feedback for Long Island works

Corals that have settled naturally on a seawall at East Coast Park on Nov 8, 2025.

PHOTO: LOH KOK SHENG

Published Sep 17, 2026, 02:25 PM

Updated Sep 17, 2026, 02:25 PM

Park users value recreational spots like Bedok Jetty and urge minimal disruption during Long Island reclamation preparatory works.

The Housing Board received 430 responses to an environmental study for the preparatory works.

HDB plans to study habitat creation and coral transplantation to support biodiversity along the future coastline.

SINGAPORE - Ahead of works to prepare for the Long Island reclamation off East Coast Park, parkgoers have appealed to the authorities to ensure that activities at local recreational haunts can continue even while works are ongoing.

These areas include fishing hotspot Bedok Jetty and a surfing haven known as “Longkang Point”. A timeline for when the works will commence has not been revealed.

This was a key theme of feedback submitted to the Housing Board (HDB), which on Sept 16 said that it had received 430 responses to an environmental study for preparatory works that was published more than two months ago.

Members of public had called for the recreational nature of East Coast Park to be retained and the impact on affected stakeholders to be limited.

In response, HDB reiterated that it will minimise disruption to existing recreational activities along the East Coast.

The preparatory works will be conducted at least 130m away from the shoreline and in phases starting in the waters west of Bedok Jetty. This means that public access and activities can still continue at beaches and shoreline facilities like the jetty.

The HDB also said it expects limited disturbance and minimal changes to wave conditions in the current surfing areas during the preparatory works.

It stressed that there will be close monitoring of key environmental conditions like water quality, suspended sediment levels, noise and dust, to ensure that impacts remain at acceptable levels for public use.

When completed in the coming decades , the reclamation of some 800ha of land for Long Island will protect low-lying areas from Marina East to Tanah Merah against rising sea levels, create an additional reservoir as well as land for future needs. The amount of land that will be reclaimed is about twice the size of Marina Bay.

Another key theme of the feedback revolved around concerns about the impact of the works on marine fauna like sea turtles, bottom-dwelling fish and coastal horseshoe crabs .

Members of the public had called for more information to show how these species and the vicinity’s natural habitats, including corals and seagrass, would be affected and protected from the development.

In response to these queries, HDB said it had updated its environmental study for the preparatory works that had been released on June 30 with more data to better characterise the fish communities within the study area and specific impact on coastal horseshoe crabs.

Even with inclusion of these data, the overall impact on fishes that dwell near and at the bottom of the sea, as well as the nesting habitat of coastal horseshoe crabs is unlikely to be significan t, the Housing Board said.

It added that infill materials, which include sand, will be placed in a controlled manner using a pipeline system, minimising disturbance to shallow shoreline habitats.

It noted that the works are not expected to affect most of the coral and seagrass in the East Coast Park area, or significantly affect recreational fishing or the fish and marine fauna community as a whole.

The HDB said: “Seagrass habitats are also generally resilient to periodic turbidity and are expected to recover without long-term degradation.”

With East Coast Park known to be a popular site for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle to nest, HDB said that agencies will work closely with experts to explore other measures to minimise the risk of harm to nesting turtles during the preparatory works.

This will be in addition to the National Parks Board’s efforts to search for turtle nests along the East Coast Park shoreline and re-locate the eggs laid there to a hatchery on the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.

NParks staff attaching a satellite tracker on a critically endangered hawksbill turtle that crawled ashore to lay its eggs at East Coast Park on July 10. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

NParks staff attaching a satellite tracker on a critically endangered hawksbill turtle that crawled ashore to lay its eggs at East Coast Park on July 10.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

The HDB noted that most feedback providers had recognised the need for coastal protection and asked if alternative coastal protection measures could be considered to retain the ecological and recreational value of East Coast Park and avoid the need for land reclamation.

It said agencies had considered building a new seawall of up to 3m in height fronting East Coast Park from Marina East to Tanah Merah, with tidal gates and pumping stations expected to take up the size of 15 football fields.

However, the HDB said this was ruled out as it will take up significant space within the existing East Coast Park and severely impede accessibility for recreational, sports and park users. This could also potentially create significant impacts on some ecosystems at the shoreline and intertidal areas along the East Coast.

The HDB said it will explore the feasibility of creating suitable habitats along the future coastline to support turtle nesting, as well as future recruitment of coral larvae and seagrass fragments.

The Housing Board will also assess the need for early transplantation of coral or seagrass communities ahead of the long-term plans for ‘Long Island’ to allow more time for marine biodiversity to grow and thrive.

While the formal consultation period for the preparatory works for ‘Long Island’ has closed, the Housing Board welcomed members of the public to continue sharing their feedback at this website.

It said the next phase of public engagement is planned to start from end-2026.

ST has contacted the HDB on when the preparatory works are scheduled to begin.

Ang Qing is a journalist covering local and international breaking news at The Straits Times, with a focus on the environment, crime, technology and social issues.

2025年11月8日，珊瑚自然附着在东海岸公园的海堤上。

照片：罗国生

发布于 2026 年 9 月 17 日下午 2:25

更新于2026年9月17日下午2:25

公园使用者珍视勿洛码头等休闲场所，并敦促在长岛填海准备工作期间尽量减少干扰。

房屋委员会收到了 430 份关于前期工程环境研究的回复。

建屋发展局计划研究栖息地营造和珊瑚移植，以支持未来海岸线的生物多样性。

新加坡——在东海岸公园长岛填海工程即将开始之际，公园游客呼吁当局确保当地休闲场所的活动即使在工程进行期间也能继续进行。

这些区域包括钓鱼胜地勿洛码头和冲浪胜地“龙港角”。工程何时开工的具体时间表尚未公布。

这是提交给建屋发展局 (HDB) 的反馈意见的一个关键主题。建屋发展局于 9 月 16 日表示，已收到 430 份对两个多月前发布的准备工作环境研究的回应。

公众呼吁保留东海岸公园的休闲性质，并尽量减少对受影响利益相关者的影响。

对此，建屋发展局重申，将尽量减少对东海岸现有休闲活动的干扰。

准备工作将在距离海岸线至少130米的地方分阶段进行，首先从勿洛码头西侧水域开始。这意味着公众仍可继续使用海滩和码头等滨水设施，并进行相关活动。

建屋发展局还表示，预计在准备工作期间，对现有冲浪区域的干扰有限，海浪状况的变化也微乎其微。

它强调将密切监测水质、悬浮泥沙含量、噪音和粉尘等关键环境条件，以确保其影响保持在公众可接受的水平。

未来几十年内，长岛约800公顷的填海造地工程竣工后，将保护从滨海东至丹那美拉的低洼地区免受海平面上升的影响，并形成一个额外的水库以及满足未来需求的土地。填海造地面积约为滨海湾的两倍。

反馈的另一个关键主题是担心这些工程会对海龟、底栖鱼类和沿海鲎等海洋动物造成影响。

公众呼吁提供更多信息，以说明这些物种和附近地区的自然栖息地（包括珊瑚和海草）将如何受到开发的影响以及如何保护它们免受破坏。

针对这些询问，建屋发展局表示，已更新了 6 月 30 日发布的准备工作环境研究报告，其中包含更多数据，以便更好地描述研究区域内的鱼类群落以及对沿海鲎的具体影响。

房屋委员会表示，即使将这些数据纳入考量，对生活在海底附近的鱼类以及沿海鲎的筑巢栖息地的总体影响也不太可能是显著的。

声明还补充说，填充材料（包括沙子）将通过管道系统以可控的方式放置，最大限度地减少对浅水岸线栖息地的干扰。

报告指出，这些工程预计不会对东海岸公园区域的大部分珊瑚和海草造成影响，也不会对休闲垂钓或整个鱼类和海洋动物群落造成重大影响。

建屋发展局表示：“海草栖息地通常也能适应周期性的水体浑浊，预计不会出现长期退化，并能恢复原状。”

东海岸公园是极度濒危的玳瑁海龟的热门筑巢地点，建屋发展局表示，相关机构将与专家密切合作，探索其他措施，以最大限度地减少准备工作期间对筑巢海龟造成的伤害风险。

除了国家公园管理局在东海岸公园海岸线沿线寻找海龟巢穴并将那里产下的蛋转移到姐妹岛海洋公园孵化场的努力之外，还将采取其他措施。

7月10日，国家公园局工作人员在东海岸公园为一只爬上岸产卵的极度濒危玳瑁龟安装卫星追踪器。（海峡时报摄影：林耀辉）

7月10日，国家公园局工作人员在东海岸公园为一只爬上岸产卵的极度濒危玳瑁龟安装卫星追踪器。

ST 照片：林耀辉

建屋发展局注意到，大多数反馈提供者都认识到海岸保护的必要性，并询问是否可以考虑其他海岸保护措施，以保留东海岸公园的生态和休闲价值，避免填海造地。

报告称，相关机构曾考虑在东海岸公园（从滨海东到丹那美拉）沿线修建一道高达 3 米的新海堤，潮汐闸门和抽水站预计将占用 15 个足球场的面积。

然而，建屋发展局表示，由于该方案将占用现有东海岸公园的大量空间，并严重阻碍休闲、运动和公园使用者的通行，因此已被排除在外。此外，该方案还可能对东海岸沿线的海岸线和潮间带部分生态系统造成重大影响。

建屋发展局表示，将探讨在未来的海岸线上创造适宜栖息地以支持海龟筑巢，以及未来珊瑚幼虫和海草碎片的补充的可行性。

住房委员会还将评估是否需要在“长岛”长期规划之前尽早移植珊瑚或海草群落，以便让海洋生物多样性有更多的时间生长和繁荣。

虽然“长岛”项目筹备工作的正式咨询期已经结束，但房屋委员会欢迎公众继续通过本网站分享他们的反馈意见。

声明称，下一阶段的公众参与计划于 2026 年底开始。

《海峡时报》已联系建屋发展局，询问准备工作何时开始。

Ang Qing是《海峡时报》的一名记者，负责报道本地和国际突发新闻，重点关注环境、犯罪、科技和社会问题。