Marina Bay, Singapore

Marina Bay
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 滨海湾
 • Pinyin bīn hăi wān
 • Malay Teluk Marina
 • Tamil மரீனா பே
Marina Bay
Location of Marina Bay within Singapore
Coordinates: 1°17′04″N 103°51′21″E / 1.28444°N 103.85583°E / 1.28444; 103.85583Coordinates: 1°17′04″N 103°51′21″E / 1.28444°N 103.85583°E / 1.28444; 103.85583
Country Singapore

Marina Bay is a bay located in the Central Area of Singapore surrounded by the perimeter of four other planning areas, the Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South and Straits View. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent Central Business District. It is also the new downtown of Singapore built on reclaimed land.[1]

Master Plan

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Master Plan for Marina Bay aims to encourage a mix of uses for this area, including commercial, residential, hotel and entertainment.

The Singapore government also spent $35 million to complete the 3.5 km Waterfront Promenade around Marina Bay.[2] It includes a new eco-friendly visitor centre and The Helix linking Bayfront to Marina Centre where the Youth Olympic Park is located. The Promontory @ Marina Bay (formerly Central Promontory Site) will be used as an interim event and public space used for activities such as theatres and carnivals.[3]

Aerial view of Marina Bay in the evening
Ground level view of Marina Bay at night

History

Marina Bay, with Marina Centre in the background.

In 1969, land reclamation work to create 360 hectares of prime waterfront site began at Marina Bay. The reclaimed land forms what is today the Marina Centre and Marina South areas, and the reclamation work was completed in 1992.[4][5] [6] In the reclamation process, Telok Ayer Basin and Inner Roads was removed from the map by reclaiming land, while the Singapore River's mouth now flows into the bay instead of directly into the sea.

The long term visions for the Marina Bay area was first articulated in the 1983 Master Plan by the URA, with the waterfront areas being deliberately kept open to the public.[4] In 1988, the draft plan for Marina Bay was presented to the public in a two-week exhibition where it set out the objectives for the development, among which are optimising the waterfront location and creating a distinctive image with international landmarks that could become a focal point for the city.[7]

In 2005, the Urban Redevelopment Authority spent $400,000 on a branding exercise to name the Marina Bay area in order to sell the new major developments in the area, only to settle with the original name "Marina Bay".[8][9]

In 2008, Marina Barrage was built, converting the basin into a new downtown freshwater Marina Reservoir, providing water supply, flood control and a new lifestyle attraction.

Events at Marina Bay

Marina Bay viewed from the Singapore Flyer at sunset

The Formula One Singapore Grand Prix has taken place annually since 2008 on a street circuit adjacent to Marina Bay.[10] Since its construction in 2007, The Float@Marina Bay has hosted events such as the National Day Parade, New Year’s Eve Countdown[11] and Singapore Fireworks Celebrations, and also serves as a spectator stand for the Singapore Grand Prix. Furthermore, it also played host to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics.[12]

The area also hosts the annual i Light Marina Bay, a sustainable light art festival.

The event space next to Marina Bay Sands, known as The Lawn, hosted the first overseas and Singapore edition of ArtBox Bangkok on two separate weekends, 14-16 April and 21-23 April 2017.[13][14]

Infrastructure

Common Services Tunnel

Singapore is the second Asian country after Japan to implement a comprehensive Common Services Tunnel system to distribute various utility services to all city developments. The Marina Bay network of purpose-built tunnels houses water pipes, electrical and telecommunication cables and other utility services underground. CST not only improves reliability of services supplies and allows easy maintenance and new installations, it also has 100% emergency backup services and the capacity for expansion to meet changing utility needs.[15]

Water management

In 2004, the Public Utilities Board publicly announced plans to construct a new downtown reservoir by damming the Marina Channel. This barrage was completed in 2008. Known as the Marina Barrage, it turned Marina Bay and the Kallang Basin into a confined freshwater reservoir with limited access to marine transportation to regulate the water quality. The new reservoir provides another source of drinking water for Singapore, as well as a stable water level for a variety of water activities and events. The barrage will also prevent flooding in the Chinatown area.

Transport

There are currently 7 rail stations: City Hall, Raffles Place, Marina Bay, Bayfront, Downtown, Esplanade and Promenade serving Marina Bay. By 2020, the 360 hectares Marina Bay will boast a comprehensive transport network as Singapore's most rail-connected district.[16] The first three new MRT lines will open between 2012 and 2014. By 2018, the Marina Bay district will have more than six MRT stations, all no more than five minutes of each other. A comprehensive pedestrian network including sheltered sidewalks, covered walkways, underground and second-storey links will ensure all-weather protection and seamless connectivity between developments and MRT stations.[17] Within greater Marina Bay, water taxis will even double up as an alternative mode of transport.

Key developments

In Marina Bay

Other places of interest

  • The 101-hectare Gardens by the Bay site is made up of Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden, and Bay Central Garden across the mouth of the Singapore River. All three gardens will be interconnected via a series of pedestrian bridges to form a larger loop along the whole waterfront and linked to surrounding developments, open public spaces, transport nodes and attractions.
  • A 3.5 km waterfront promenade linking the attractions at the Marina Centre, Collyer Quay and Bayfront areas was completed in 2010.

In the movie Independence Day: Resurgence, Marina Bay was destroyed by an alien spacecraft.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Vision". Marina Bay Singapore.Famous landmark iconic buildings include the Marina Bay Sands, Marina Bay Financial Centre, Asia Square, The Sail@Marina Bay and Marina one integrated development. 2014. It is one of the key focus areas by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.http://www.marina-bay.sg/vision.html. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  2. ↑ “$35m for Marina Bay waterfront promenade”. Asiaone. 2008-09-19. |url=http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20080918-88574.html%7C Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  3. ↑ "Downtown @ Marina Bay". URA. http://www.ura.gov.sg/cudd/cawebsite/downtown-map.htm Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  4. 1 2 June Gwee, ed. (2013). Case Studies in Public Governance: Building Institutions in Singapore. Taylor & Francis Ebooks. ISBN 9781136447075.
  5. ↑ Ching Tuan Yee and Benjamin Ng. "Marina Bay: The Shape of Things to Come". Civil Service College.
  6. ↑ Collin Anderson (2016). DP Architects on Marina Bay: Designing for Reclaimed Lands. Oro Editions. ISBN 9781941806975.
  7. ↑ Tan Chung Hong (1991). "Planning for the Development of Singapore's Urban Waterfront". In Lin Sien Chia, L. M. Chou. Urban Coastal Area Management: The Experience of Singapore (PDF). International Specialized Book Services. pp. 54–56. ISBN 9789711022877.
  8. ↑ "Singapore spends $400,000 to rename Marina Bay... Marina Bay". Agence France Presse. 22 July 2005.
  9. ↑ "Compass Point renamed twice: Other names in Singapore that drew flak". The Straits Times. 23 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "Singapore to host F1 Grand Prix next year". Channel NewsAsia. 2006-05-11. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/275566/1/.html Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  11. ↑ [http://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/annual-highlights/marina-bay-countdown/ Marina Bay Singapore Countdown
  12. ↑ "Singapore YOG 2010 Fan Site". "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 January 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  13. ↑ "What to expect at Artbox Singapore: the first overseas edition of Bangkok's famous market". Coconuts Singapore. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  14. ↑ "Attention hipsters: Artbox Bangkok is coming to Singapore". AsiaOne. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "State-of-the-art infrastructure in place at Marina Bay". Urban Redevelopment Authority. 2006-06-16. 14 http://www.ura.gov.sg/pr/text/pr06-40.html. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  16. ↑ "5 MRT lines to Marina Bay". The Straits Times. 2010-05-24 http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_530577.html Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  17. ↑ "Seamless Connectivity". Marina Bay Singapore. 2008. http://www.marina-bay.sg/connectivity.html. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  18. ↑ Hui Min, Chew (February 9, 2016). "Singapore skyline 'destroyed' in trailer for movie Independence Day: Resurgence". The Straits Times. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
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