Singapore Government plans Sentosa Island redevelopment to become ‘Southern Gateway of Asia’

The islands of Sentosa and Pulau Brani, as well as the waterfront areas of Singapore’s suburb of Tanjong Pagar, are to undergo a major redevelopment and be rebranded as the ‘Southern Gateway of Asia’.

As part of the Singaporean Government’s aim to enhance the island nation’s attractiveness to tourists, plans are in place to reshape Sentosa to provide more scope for new attractions and investments.

Speaking to Channel News Asia, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat stated “we are currently developing a comprehensive set of plans to reshape the entire island and provide more scope for new attractions and investments on Sentosa,”

The plan will see port terminals at Tanjong Pagar and Pasir Panjang relocated to Tuas to free up land for a new waterfront city to be known as the Greater Southern Waterfront.

Minister Chee stated “this expanded canvas, which is as large as Sentosa Island itself, will provide exciting opportunities for us to develop new tourism attractions and anchor this precinct as the Southern Gateway for Asia.”

The area will be developed for tourism along with commercial space and residential development.

There are plans to improve Sentosa’s connectivity and attractiveness, including rejuvenating existing infrastructure and facilities as well as introducing new attractions.

Minister Chee added “one area which I am personally very keen to see how we can explore and push ahead is how we can encourage more activities at night on Sentosa.”

Sentosa was turned into a tourist destination in 1972 and following ongoing redevelopment now receives around 20 million visitors each year, with attractions including a beach, golf courses, 14 hotels and Universal Studios Singapore.