Design and potential applications of floating structures in Singapore

As an island city-state with about 710 km2 of land, Singapore treats land as a precious and limited resource. In order to sustain the development growth, Singapore continues to reclaim land from the sea and excavate underground space. In addition, Singapore has also started creating space on the sea by using large floating structure technology. This paper focuses on a multi-purpose floating structure (MPFS) research and development project funded by Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge (L2 NIC) Directorate and JTC Corporation. The objective of the project is to develop innovative design concepts, optimal structural, and foundation solutions, as well as construction and installation methods for multi-purpose floating structures in Singapore coastal waters. This paper covers three specific applications, namely a floating hydrocarbon storage facility, a floating bridge and a modular multi-purpose floating structure. The technical challenges, conceptual designs, research innovation and key findings will be discussed. The outcomes of this research project may be used as a reference for other potential applications including floating offshore bunker supply bases, LNG regasification facilities, solar plants, desalination plants, piers, shipyards, container port terminals, golf courses, parks and towns/cities.