Kallang River Gets $86 Million Upgrade to Enhance Flood Protection & Water Features

Climate change is a huge threat to the existence of Singapore, considering we’re a tiny, low-lying island surrounded by nothing but water.

Who knows when we could be completely devoured by the sea?

Well, it’s not happening any time soon (hopefully).

Because the government is doing everything that it can to ensure that Singapore is well protected, starting with the upgrade of the Kallang River.

Kallang River Receives a $86 Million Upgrade 

The Kallang River is Singapore’s longest river and it passes through many housing and industrial areas like Bishan, Toa Payoh, and Bendemeer, before merging into Kallang Basin.

Recently, a 1.8km stretch along the river went through an upgrade that has made it a better defence against rain and floods.

The four-year project, ABC Waters @ Kallang River, cost a total of S$86 million.

The kind of money that all of us can only dream to have…

The canal is now a lot wider and deeper, and this has increased its drainage capacity by 80%.

Before the upgrade, that particular stretch of the canal, between Bishan and Braddell roads, was simply plain concrete and did not have such water features.

The Area Has Also Been Beautified 

Of course, when is anything in Singapore ever upgraded without making it look 10 times prettier as well?

The area now includes a naturalised slope, mall islands with plants, as well as water cascades which will help the water to flow from a higher elevation.

There’s also going to be a meandering stream, which has never been located within a canal in Singapore before.

In case you don’t know what that is, picture something that looks like a snake…but with water instead of a snake.

Or, well, I could just show you.

PUB also worked with the National Parks Board to develop Kallang Linear Park, which will be located along the river between Bishan Stadium and Block 165 Bishan Street 13.

On top of that, there’s also going to be an upcoming cycling ramp over the Kallang River, which will be completed by the end of this year and will connect cyclists from Bishan to downtown Singapore in the future.

So, yes, 2023. That’s when you can start going to the Kallang River for #OOTDs and wedding shots.

It Was Time For An Upgrade

“This stretch of the Kallang River was built in the 1970s and has reached its structural lifespan,” said Mr Yeo Keng Soon, PUB’s director of catchment and waterways, as reported by The Straits Times.

PUB has been upgrading the drainage infrastructure at Kallang River since the 1990s, which measures 10km and runs from Lower Peirce Reservoir all the way to Marina Reservoir.

This project is the latest of six ABC Waters @ Kallang River projects. ABC stands for Active, Beautiful, and Clean, and not some soup your grandparents used to cook for you.

The latest upgrade certainly does seem to fulfil and show off all three—A, B and C.

But more importantly, it’s going to be able to protect the area and its residents in case something ever goes wrong.

Well, only if it’s flood-related. If a giant sea creature emerges from the river and starts eating people, well, you’re on your own.