Delivering coastal flood resilience in Singapore
As a low-lying island nation, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to coastal flooding due to sea-level rise, high tides and extreme weather events. Protecting land, infrastructure and communities over the long term requires more than individual projects — it demands a consistent, nationally aligned approach on how coastal protection measures are planned, designed, operated and maintained.
To support this effort, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, commissioned a two-year study to Jacobs that sets out standardized planning, design, operations, inspection and maintenance requirements for coastal protection measures.
Balancing safety, flexibility and long-term adaptability
To form a continuous line of defense against coastal flooding, Singapore’s coastal landowners are required to build connected and watertight coastal protection measures. These structures will be designed to reduce flood risks, maintain their functionality under extreme weather conditions and changing sea levels, and facilitate future enhancement.
The challenge was to strike the right balance — establishing clear and consistent requirements for structural safety, integrity and functionality while maintaining design flexibility and long-term adaptability.
Of Singapore’s land is less than 5m above mean sea level
(5m) Potential sea level rise caused by the combination of extreme events, storm surges and high tides.
(1.15m) The projected mean sea level rise around Singapore by 2100
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As Singapore advances its coastal protection efforts, having clear and consistent design standards is essential. This study establishes common standard and guidance to safeguard public safety and ensure reliability while allowing flexibility to adapt to site conditions, evolving climate risks and future development needs.
Senior Project Manager
