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Good practice Imported

Bishan–Ang Mo Kio Park — Kallang River Naturalisation under Singapore's ABC Waters Programme

Singapore · Singapore · See the Singapore profile · See the Singapore profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 33% 53/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

PUB and NParks turned a 2.7 km concrete canal carrying the Kallang River into a 3 km naturalised, meandering river through Bishan–Ang Mo Kio Park (2007–2012), widened up to 5x and doubling as flood storage; PUB reports a 30% rise in biodiversity since completion.

2.7 km original canal → ≈3 km naturalised river
Concrete canal converted to naturalised river (2007–2012)
up to 5x original width
Channel widening (2007–2012)
30 % (PUB self-reported)
Biodiversity increase since completion (since 2012)
SGD 76.7 million (USD 56.3 million) budget
Project cost (2007–2012)
≈10 techniques, over 11 months
Bio-engineering techniques tested pre-construction (pre-2007 construction)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency & National Parks Board (NParks)
Period
2007–2012 (ongoing)
Keywords
water management, flood control, blue-green infrastructure, biodiversity

Context

Singapore's national water agency PUB, together with the National Parks Board (NParks), redeveloped Bishan–Ang Mo Kio Park between 2007 and 2012 under the Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters (ABC Waters) Programme. The project transformed a straight, 2.7-kilometre concrete drainage canal carrying the upper Kallang River into a naturalised, meandering waterway roughly 3 kilometres long running through the park.

Activities

The new channel was widened up to five times its original width and designed on a flood-plain concept: during dry weather the river flows through a narrow central stream, and during storms the surrounding parkland floods to convey stormwater safely downstream before draining back within hours. About 10 bio-engineering soil-stabilisation techniques, new to Singapore at the time, were tested over 11 months before construction.

Results

PUB reports the surrounding biodiversity has increased by 30% since completion, with otters, egrets and dragonfly and damselfly species now regularly recorded. The SGD 76.7 million (USD 56.3 million) project was designed by Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl with CH2M Hill Singapore and has won several awards, including the World Architecture Festival's 2012 Landscape of the Year and a 2016 ASLA Professional Honor Award.

Conclusions

The 30% biodiversity increase is PUB's own figure; no independently peer-reviewed monitoring study of species counts was located, and no carbon or fire-related outcome data exists for the site. The flood-conveyance function, by contrast, is corroborated independently by both PUB's engineering documentation and C40 Cities' case study.

Implementation
Indicative cost
High (€500k–€5M)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency, National Parks Board (NParks), Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl (design), CH2M Hill Singapore (engineering)

Conditions for success

  • pre-construction testing (≈11 months) of bio-engineering soil-stabilisation techniques new to Singapore before wider rollout
  • a flood-plain design allowing surrounding parkland to flood safely during storms rather than expanding pipe capacity
  • integration of an international design consultancy with local engineering delivery

Where it fits

Governance type
national statutory water agency programme
Scale
single flagship park/waterway (2.7 km canal, 3 km naturalised river)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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