Undersea tunnels eyed to connect mainland to Pulau Tekong

New transport links are planned for Sentosa, Brani, and Jurong Island.

Singapore is studying the feasibility of undersea tunnels to connect Pulau Tekong with the mainland, improving access to the island and reducing reliance on boat transport, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at the National Day Rally.

Tekong, Singapore’s largest outlying island, now comprises Tekong Besar and Tekong Kecil after reclamation and the completion of a polder connecting the two.

Further reclamation is planned for southern Tekong, creating more training space for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). Around 500 hectares could remain available for future civilian uses, although no use has been decided.

Plans are also underway to improve links between Singapore’s outer islands and the mainland. Long Island will extend Singapore’s existing coastline. Sentosa and Brani will get a new people mover connecting them to the mainland, whilst a water taxi service is also being explored.

In the west, a second road link will be built to supplement the existing causeway between the mainland and Jurong Island. A new link will also connect Jurong Island to the planned western island.

For Tekong, bridges are not considered suitable because they would cross busy shipping channels.

Wong said building tunnels of this scale would be a major engineering undertaking, as Singapore has not previously constructed undersea tunnels of this size.

“It will be a major engineering undertaking. But if we can do it, it will bring our outer islands much closer to the rest of Singapore," he said.