44ha of land to be reclaimed to expand Woodlands Checkpoint

Larger area initially studied, but size now reduced to minimise environmental impact

- Isabelle Liew

 

About 44ha of land will be reclaimed as part of works to expand the Woodlands Checkpoint a smaller area than what was initially studied, so as to minimise the impact on the environment.

JTC Corporation and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said about 34ha of land will be reclaimed on the western side of the Causeway linking Malaysia and Singapore, and 10ha on the eastern side.

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) conducted by JTC had studied a larger reclamation area 36.4ha on the western side and 30.2ha on the eastern end.

The size of the area has been reduced to 44ha - the size of more than 60 football fields to minimise the environmental impact of reclamation work, said the agencies in response to queries. This will also maximise the distance between the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat nature park and reclaimed land on the western side.

Reclamation is tentatively scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2024 and slated to be completed by 2029.

Works on the western side will be conducted in two phases, and take about five years to complete. The smaller eastern side will take about three years and four months.

The redeveloped Woodlands Checkpoint is expected to span about 95ha - almost five times the size of the current 19ha checkpoint - and aims to cut average clearance time from 60 minutes to 15 minutes during peak periods across all vehicle types, among other improvements.

Reducing the size of the eastern reclaimed area would move it farther away from the Woodlands Waterfront Jetty and decrease the presence of suspended sediments at the jetty, the EIA report showed.

The initial area studied had a 75m distance between the reclaimed portion and the jetty, while the final profile is about 620m away from the jetty.