State Lands (Amendment) Bill

Mdm Speaker, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Minister for National Development had previously shared the possibilities and potential benefits of developing underground land, which, in turn, will free up surface land for other uses, such as housing, parks and recreation. There are already some examples of underground land being put to good use. One such example is the Jurong Rock Caverns, an underground oil storage facility, which saved about 60 hectares of surface land, a size equivalent to about 60 football fields. Underground land can also be developed to build extensive pedestrian connections between transport nodes and high-traffic areas, thereby improving connectivity for commuters and residents alike. These developments will benefit all Singaporeans.

[Deputy Speaker (Mr Seah Kian Peng) in the Chair]

To enable Singapore to put underground space to more productive use, it is necessary to update the legislative framework to clarify the ownership of underground space. Presently, the boundaries of land ownership are clearly marked out for surface land, but not so for underground space. This is unsurprising, because our existing laws were developed at a time when extensive underground development was not contemplated.

For this reason, Mr Deputy Speaker, the State Lands (Amendment) Bill 2015 amends the State Lands Act to clarify the ownership of underground space. I will now cover the key provisions in the Bill.

Under our current laws, a landowner owns the underground space to a depth that is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of surface land. However, there is no clarity as to what such depth is. Clause 4 of the Bill clarifies that the amount of underground space which is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of one's property, and which the landowner correspondingly owns, is to 30 metres under the Singapore Height Datum or SHD, unless otherwise specified in the terms of the State lease.

The SHD is a level fixed across the whole of Singapore from which depth measurements take reference. It is based on Singapore's historical mean sea level. All land in Singapore,

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with the exception of some excavated features and some parts at the coastline, such as dry docks at the ports and beaches, is above the SHD. The use of this benchmark, which corresponds to a mode of measurement that the building and construction industry is familiar with, provides clarity and certainty as it will not shift over time.

As to how we arrived at the figure of 30 metres as the level that is reasonably necessary for the use and enjoyment of surface land, this level was determined after consultation with the industry, lawyers and academics, and an examination of existing known basement depths of Singapore buildings.

Landowners will continue to have ample and sufficient underground space to build the basements for their developments. To provide a point of comparison, the Orchard ION building has four basement levels, which extend to only about 10 metres below the SHD. The deepest basement in Singapore, at Fusionopolis, is 15 metres below the SHD. The amendments clarify that reasonable use extends to 30 metres below the SHD.

Landowners' existing use of their land will not be affected. Other than being able to continue building their basements to the necessary depths, the amendments ensure that the surface landowner will continue to have a right to sink his piles to the depths necessary to provide support for his surface development, including depths within the state-owned stratum. This is provided for in clause 4 of the Bill. A consequential amendment to the State Lands Encroachments Act will be made to clarify that a person who exercises such rights under the easement of support will not be considered to be encroaching on State land.

The Bill also contains consequential amendments to other Acts, such as the Land Titles Act and the Sale of Commercial Properties Act, to ensure that the references to "land" in these Acts are aligned with that as provided under the Bill.

Mr Deputy Speaker, in conclusion, Singapore is a small country with scarce land resources. There is, therefore, an important need to optimise all of our land resources, including the use of underground space, for the benefit of Singaporeans. To this end, it is necessary to clarify the issue of underground ownership. Introducing these amendments will enable our planners to plan for the long-term use of underground space. Our colleagues from the Ministry of National Development will release the vision and concepts for underground space in due course and they will seek the public's feedback on these plans. We will continue to strengthen our legislative framework as the plans for future underground development take shape. Mr Deputy Speaker, I beg to move.

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Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Ms Indranee Rajah].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

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