SINGAPORE, Sept 8 — Singapore has reportedly reclaimed 800 hectares of land at Pulau Tekong using empoldering, its first below-sea-level land reclamation project, in a move to strengthen the country’s long-term climate resilience and land-use strategy.

According to The Straits Times, the reclaimed site will be used for military training, freeing up mainland land for housing and amenities, Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) and national water agency (PUB) said in a joint statement.

The agencies reportedly said that empoldering reduced sand use by nearly half compared with conventional reclamation, with further savings achieved by reusing more than 10 million cubic metres of clay from the project’s stormwater pond.

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong reportedly, who first unveiled the initiative in 2016 as Minister for National Development, visited the site on Sept 8 to view the polder.

The reclaimed tract is reportedly surrounded by a six-metre-high coastal dyke and lies 1.2m below mean sea level, with its drainage network, pumping stations and stormwater pond designed to manage intense rainfall and rising seas.

PUB also said it installed more than 170 closed-circuit television cameras and 260 sensors to enable real-time monitoring of water levels, water quality and dyke conditions.

Final works are expected to be completed later in 2025, before the project is handed over to PUB and the city-state’s Ministry of Defence.