1. Marina Bay learning journey
project
Question: Explain how Marina Bay serves as a model to
the Principles of Governance to help Singapore sustain its
growth in the 21st Century.
By: Tan Hao Lei(35)
3S2
2. First Station: Fuhua tree and
Marina City Gallery
The tree was a gift of appreciation for Fuhua’s contribution toward
the Youth Olympic Games.
The gallery was created to tell the people about the history behind
Marina Bay’s development from a piece of reclaimed land to the
beautiful Garden City by the Bay.
Other than learning about the history of the land, the gallery also
showcases the most up-to-date plans, technological advances and
events at Marina Bay.
One can observe Marina Bay, before and after, on an interactive
model of the city the illuminates landmarks and places of interest at
the touch of a button.
There is also an interactive timeline as well as an interactive
information screen that has documented the course of Marina Bay’s
reconstruction and the reasons behind them.
Also included is the recordings of the urban planners and architects
responsible for its creation.
3. Model of Marina Bay
The model shows the overhead view of the Bay before and after its
development.
The white buildings represent the newest additions to the bay and the gray
building the existing buildings at Marina Bay before its development.
The white and gray buildings will illuminate at the touch of a button and
additional information will be given through a screen beside the button.
4. How it relates to the Principles of Governance
The compacting of workspaces, leisure areas and housing in a single
building as shown in the gallery and the efficient use of limited land like the
construction of shopping malls underground around subterranean MRT
stations are examples of “Anticipating change, Staying relevant” as the
government realised that land in Singapore was scarce and constructing
high-rise buildings to circumvent this cannot continue for long.
Therefore, instead of looking up, the government decided to make use of
the largely unused land underground for places of leisure such as shopping
malls which are connected to MRT station and above-ground shopping
malls for easy access and effective use of land and the construction of
tunnels for pipes for carrying sewage, clean water and cables for
telecommunications uses.
By using this method of saving space, there are three planes of space which
can be made use of: Underground, Ground level and Above ground, thus
increasing space that is available for use.
Also, by allocating a designated area for piping, traffic need not be disrupted
in order to maintain the pipes, so a lot of the hassle of repair work and the
likelihood of traffic jams is reduced.
5. How it relates to the Principles of
Governance(2)
Also, as shown on the model of the Bay, tourist attractions are constructed
in the city.
This shows the principles “Anticipating change, Staying relevant” and
“Leadership is key”
Since Singapore relies on tourism and foreign investors for its sustained
economic growth, the government has to constantly think of ways to attract
them to the island. They had the foresight to construct tourist attractions like
the Singapore Flyer and to allow F1 to take place here.
These allowed Singapore to compete in the cutthroat business of tourism
against other bigger countries and secure its position as a tourist hotspot,
thus ensuring its continued prosperity.
Hence, with the greater amount of tourists being encouraged to spend their
money here, Singapore’s revenue will be increased and it will continue to
enjoy economic growth and stability.
6. Second station: Marina Bay Sands
It was constructed as a tourist attraction to encourage more tourists
to visit Singapore and improve the tourism sector, hence generating
more revenue for Singapore.
It also featured Singapore’s first legal casino.
7. How it relates to the Principles of
Governance
The construction of the Marina Bay Sands resort is linked the principles,
“Anticipating change, Staying relevant”, “Leadership is key”, and “ A stake
for everyone, Opportunities for all”
As mentioned before, the government decided to construct tourist
attractions, in which this resort is a part of, in order to attract more tourists to
Singapore and allow it to compete with other countries, which shows that
the government has foresight and is willing to take risks such as the
introduction of a legal casino in order to ensure Singapore’s continued good
fortune. They also decide to go forward on this project despite objections
from the people, which shows that they know how to make tough decisions
and are not influenced by the people’s opinions if the decision is for the
good of Singapore.
However, the government also listened to the concerns of the people such
as problem gambling and instituted countermeasures to these problem.
8. How it relates to the Principles of
Governance(2)
Such countermeasures include:
2.The paying of a $100 levy for Singaporeans and PRs only,
3.And the enabling of family members to ban a person from entering the
casino.
In the shopping district of the resort, one can find a multitude of shops, both
local and global brands, like Gucci, Chanel, UOB and Robinsons.
This shows the government’s ingenuity as by putting them side by side, the
government is advertising local brands to tourists in order to increase their
popularity.
This will lead to the increase of Singaporean products’ reputation as first
rate, which will lead to an increase in sales and thus an increase in
Singapore’ economical growth.
9. Third station: Clifford pier
Before Marina Bay’s development, it was a port for boats carrying
immigrants and passengers who came to Singapore to start a new
life.
Presently, it is a entertainment and business hub, with hotels, clubs
and skyscrapers at every corner.
10. How it relates to the Principles of
Governance
The development and subsequent modernisation of the pier are
examples of the principle of governance, “Anticipating change,
Staying relevant”.
By converting this pier into a tourist hotspot cum business centre,
the government has created more jobs for locals, in addition to
attracting tourists and investors, which will lead to the increase in
Singapore revenue and thus economic prosperity.
This also allows Singapore to present itself as a first rate country
and compete as a viable candidate for investing in, in addition to
competing with other countries in terms of economic growth and
stability.
11. Final Station: Eco-friendly structure
The structure is a fan run entirely on solar energy.
It stores a fraction of the energy collected in batteries in order to power itself
in the absence of sunlight for a limited time.
12. How it relates to the Principles of
Governance
This is a perfect example of the principle, “ Anticipating change, Staying
relevant.
As natural resources like fossil fuels are finite and getting more expensive to
procure, the government realised Singapore cannot continue to rely on such
resources for the generation of electricity.
Also, the burning of fossil fuels generate greenhouse gases, which
contribute greatly to the overheating of the Earth through global warming
and climate change.
Therefore, the government sought to turn toward more eco-friendly,
renewable resources such as solar power. The fan is one example of this.
Also, other than energy conservation, the government also sought to
conserve land through ways mentioned in the fourth slide.
