Marina Bay District

Centrepiece of Singapore’s Urban Transformation
With land reclamation works beginning only in the 1970s, the waterfront Marina Bay district is a testament to our nation’s progress. The glittering skyscrapers of the Central Business District are surrounded by a multitude of world-class leisure destinations and civic spaces for the community, truly making it the People’s Bay.

The idea of Marina Bay first took shape in the 1970s, when city’s planners envisioned an expansion of the city centre to accommodate Singapore’s status as a business and financial hub. With place management efforts to help to push Marina Bay beyond physical transformations, with the creation and enhancement of public spaces, as well as the programming of events and activities to inject buzz and vibrancy into the area.

There’s plenty to feast your eyes on at Marina Bay. An array of architectural masterpieces dot the waterfront, such as Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and Marina Bay Sands. Next to it is Gardens by the Bay, filled with over 100 hectares of flourishing greenery and unique structures such as the Supertree Grove.

Marina Bay is also where a variety of large-scale events such as the National Day Parade, River Hongbao, Marina Bay Singapore Countdown and i Light Marina Bay light art festival are held. These bring diverse aspects of the community together in open, green public spaces.

To cater to the increasingly varied needs of emerging lifestyle trends, Downtown has to expand its palette of offerings, for working, living and playing. There is scope to do more with State land and State properties that may be available in the nearer term, to fill the gaps in offerings and amenities, and to serve as a test-bed for new, innovative ideas.

Large tracts of available land in Marina Bay provide ample opportunity to test-bed innovative ideas on shorter leases. These can offer unique lifestyle concepts and generous public spaces, while providing for flexibility and responsiveness to evolving needs.

The Downtown area will be even more connected than ever with upcoming Maxwell and Shenton Way stations on the Thomson-East Coast Line, and Prince Edward and Cantonment stations on Circle Line 6. With these additions, all developments in Downtown will be within a 10-minute walk of an MRT station!

Active, convenient commuting within the city will become a reality with the existing 22 km of cycling paths and another 5 km of expanded cycling path network by 2021!

Developments are also encouraged to provide end-of-trip facilities such as bicycle parking, shower rooms and lockers to make the whole commute journey a breeze.