What lies beneath: Singapore plans a subterranean future

Space-starved Singapore has expanded outwards by building into the sea and upwards by constructing high-rises but planners are now looking underground as they seek new areas for growth.

The nation has carefully managed its rapid growth in recent decades to avoid the problems faced by other fast developing Asian metropolises, such as overcrowding and traffic chaos.

But with its population of 5.6 million expected to grow steadily in coming years, authorities are now considering how to better use the space below the streets in a city that is just half the size of Los Angeles.

Singapore has already built an underground highway and state-of-the-art air conditioning system, but is now looking to house more facilities beneath the surface in order to optimise land use above it.

"We need to consider options for putting critical infrastructure underground," Abhineet Kaul, a Singapore-based public sector specialist at consultancy Frost & Sullivan, told AFP.

"We have an increasing need for industrial, commercial, residential and green space on land in Singapore."