Thaindian News

Singapore, Jan 31 (IANS) Singapore has decided to invest 750 million Singapore dollars (US $595 mn) over the next five years to improve its drainage system.

Singapore’s national water agency — Public Utilities Board (PUB) — announced Monday that it is committing at least 750 million Singapore dollars over the next five years to increase the capacity of the city state’s drains by up to 45 percent, Xinhua reported.

The announcement came after repeated flash floods in downtown areas hit malls over the past two years, prompting a review of the drainage system in place.

PUB announced its comprehensive measures to deal with increasingly intense rainfall, in response to earlier recommendations by an expert panel.

Nearly half the money will be spent on expanding the capacity of six major canals.

The agency is also studying ways to better manage storm water upstream and is developing a model to predict floods with greater accuracy.

The agency also said that as Singapore becomes more urbanised, its approach to flood management needs to go beyond just improving drainage capacity.

“We have to take a much more sophisticated approach, where we want to look at a whole range of solutions. That will include managing and reducing run-off at source, as well as better protect buildings and facilities at the receiving end so they can better handle residual risk,” said Chew Men Leong, chief executive of PUB.

Other measures announced by the PUB include roof-top canopies and retention ponds to absorb rainwater once it hits the ground.