CFI Singapore 2nd Annual Symposium - Ms Goh Hanyan

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

1. A very good morning to all of you. I thank CFI Singapore for bringing us together at today’s symposium as we celebrate your second anniversary.

Our Coastal Protection Imperative

2. Climate change is reshaping our world, bringing unprecedented challenges.

   1. Warming temperatures cause sea levels to rise and extreme weather events to intensify.

   2. For Singapore, our projections suggest mean sea levels could rise by up to 1.15 metre by 2100. This significantly increasing our flood risks.

   3. As a low-lying, densely built island nation with limited land surrounded entirely by sea, coastal protection is not just important - it is existential. Without coastal protection, rising sea levels may encroach on our land, and every square metre of Singapore’s precious land matters. Coastal protection matters because it protects our lives, livelihoods and valuable assets.
      

Research and Development Underpin our Coastal Protection Strategy 

3. Research and development play a critical role in building our capacity to address these challenges.

   1. Through the Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme, or CFRP for short, we are investing in new and innovative solutions tailored to Singapore’s coastal challenges.

   2. For example, studies into coastal hydrodynamics will inform how shorelines will be affected by changes in sea levels. This provides essential data for our flood model and guides the design of more effective protection measures. 

   3. On the other hand, research in hybrid green-grey solutions, supports our efforts to integrate ecological functions with engineered systems. This approach helps us design and build coastal protection in a manner that is sensitive to the environment.

   4. These insights are not just academic – they directly inform our planning decisions, engineering designs and long-term policy development.

4. To drive this important work forward, the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute Singapore, or CFI Singapore for short, serves to promote inter-university collaboration.

   1. It brings together experts from diverse disciplines – from environmental science and engineering, to urban planning and marine biology. This collaborative approach harnesses the unique strengths and expertise of our universities. It also fosters co-development of solutions that are technically sound and holistically designed to address Singapore's coastal challenges.

   2. I am heartened to hear that since its launch in 2023, the Institute and its partners have embarked on 17 research projects, spanning across coastal modelling and forecasting, to innovative engineering and hybrid solutions.

   3. The Institute has trained over 90 researchers and students, nurturing the next generation of coastal protection specialists who will contribute to defending our coasts.
      

5. To bridge research and practical application, PUB launched its inaugural Applied Research grant call at the Singapore International Water Week last year. Since then, we have made good progress.

   1. Today, I am pleased to announce that PUB has awarded over S$22 million to 14 promising projects. The grant call attracted 47 proposals, with two-thirds of them involving collaboration between Institutes of Higher Learning and industry players. 

   2. These solutions include coastal protection measures that utilise sustainable materials like recycled construction waste, and the development of monitoring technologies for coastal protection structures.

   3. Let me share with you two interesting examples: 

   4. The first project addresses a fundamental challenge in effectively monitoring our coastal structures as they age. Current structural health monitoring depends on extremely manual processes which are resource-intensive and constrained by accessibility and safety issues.

   5. NUS is partnering with BeeX, a homegrown SME and Delta Marine Consultants to revolutionise this process. This project builds on BeeX’s autonomous underwater inspection capabilities through their past projects with JTC and EMA. The project team aims to combine autonomous robots with underwater Non-Destructive Testing techniques, thereby yielding more accurate and efficient underwater structural inspections. This enables better protection of coastal defences while optimising resources and enhancing worker safety.

   6. The second project exemplifies our push towards sustainability in coastal protection. Led by Pan-United Concrete, an industry leader in sustainable concrete technologies and in partnership with NTU, this project uses carbon capture technology to transform local concrete waste into lightweight aggregate. 

   7. The resulting concrete is 15% lighter, which can be used to retrofit existing coastal protection measures. This facilitates adaptive planning by allowing concrete structures to be built incrementally in tandem with sea level rise. This innovative approach, which recycles local concrete waste and captures carbon dioxide, demonstrates how we can effectively enhance coastal resilience while furthering our resource circularity and climate goals.

6. In addition to these research activities, PUB has also established the CFRP Living Lab initiative.

   1. This is an opportunity for us to test promising solutions under real-world conditions, to understand whether they are both technically feasible and cost-effective.

   2. Singapore’s urban space constraints and unique wave conditions mean we cannot simply adopt off-the-shelf solutions. The Living Lab allows us to move beyond laboratory limitations, addressing complex challenges of scaling up technologies through actual deployment along our coasts.

   3. Also, the initiative provides a vital platform for innovative companies to pilot their technologies and establish track record in the emerging coastal protection sector. This is particularly important as we seek to build a robust ecosystem of solutions providers who understand Singapore's unique challenges and requirements.

   4. We are currently scoping the Living Lab projects and hope to commence soon.

7. Collectively, our R&D investments will shape Singapore’s technical capabilities in coastal protection, developing homegrown expertise within our industry and research community. This enables us to develop more innovative and cost-effective solutions that address our distinct coastal challenges and serve our long-term resilience needs.

Closing

8. Looking ahead, I see a Singapore where our coastal protection measures do not just defend but also enhance our living environment.

   1. Imagine adaptive, sustainable coastal infrastructures that provide recreational areas and green spaces.

   2. Envision living shorelines that grow more resilient with time, fortified by native ecosystems and species.

9. To our young researchers and aspiring scientists in the audience – this is where you come in.

   1. The challenges we face in coastal protection offer exciting opportunities to make a real difference.

   2. Together, we can enable current and future generations of Singaporeans to continue to enjoy our new coastal spaces with confidence that we are adequately protected from the threats of sea level rise.

10. I look forward to learning more from the project teams at the booths later, and I encourage you to exchange ideas and explore collaborative partnerships at this symposium. Thank you.