BUILDING FOR A RISING SEA: A LOOK AT PUB’S NEW COASTAL PROTECTION CODE OF PRACTICE
PUB has issued the first edition of its Code of Practice on Coastal Protection (“CPCOP”), made under the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act. It sets out how coastal land in Singapore is to be protected against rising sea levels and storm surges, covering everything from planning and design to operation, inspection and maintenance.
The underlying idea is simple: protection measures along the coastline must join up, plot by plot, to form a continuous line of defence for the land behind them.
Owners and developers should take note that coastal protection is becoming a long-term ownership obligation, with serious commercial implications, such as costs, land use and future transactions.
Protection must anticipate future sea levels. How much a site must do depends on its remaining lease.
Sites with more than 30 years remaining have a choice: build to the higher future sea-level scenario from the outset, or build to a lower initial standard with provision made (for example, in the foundations) to upgrade later, with the upgrade carried out when PUB directs.
Sites with 30 years or less need only meet the lower standard. The chosen approach must be declared to PUB as part of the design approval process.
In short, long-life developments cannot be designed around today's conditions alone. They must either be made future-proof now or built to adapt.
Land must be kept available for future works. The CPCOP introduces the concept of a Coastal Protection Reserve (“CPR”). This is the area required for future modification or expansion of an APB measure and for maintenance access.
The professional engineer shall determine the required CPR based on the remaining lease duration of the development. He shall then submit it to PUB for approval.
The reserve can be used in the meantime, but any use must not obstruct maintenance, and structures on it may have to be removed when upgrading works are called.
For waterfront sites where every square metre carries commercial value, this affects developable area, layout, redevelopment potential and valuation, so coastal protection needs to be factored into site planning from the outset.
The obligations continue for the life of the asset. The Code generally contemplates a design life of 120 years for the APB measures, and the compliance regime runs with them.
Owners must arrange annual inspections, more detailed structural inspections every five years, and additional checks after major storms or other events that may have affected the structure, and must make annual declarations to PUB on inspection and maintenance.
The CPCOP contemplates that there may be transient flooding, but not permanent coastal floodings. The areas prone to such transient flooding will be marked as Transiently Floodable Area (Coastal) or TFA(C) in the Coastal Protection Integration Plan. Owners of TFA(C) areas must appoint a Flood Protection Manager, maintain a flood response plan, run flood drills at least once a year and subscribe to PUB's flood forecast alerts.
Owners should therefore expect recurring compliance and operational costs well beyond completion.
Neighbours become interdependent. Because defences on adjoining plots must physically connect, the Code sequences the work: whoever completes first must design their measure so the neighbour can connect to it, and must hand over an interface report recording the details the neighbour will need.
Whoever builds second must then connect in a way that deals with watertightness, seepage and movement between the two structures.
Coastal protection is now a due diligence issue. These obligations attach to the land and stretch decades ahead.
Purchasers, investors and financiers of coastal assets should ask whether a site is affected, which build approach applies, what land has been reserved for future works, what ongoing inspection and maintenance obligations exist, and what interface arrangements bind the site to its neighbours.
The bottom line. The Code makes coastal resilience part of owning coastal land. It shifts real, long-term obligations onto landowners: upfront design constraints, reserved land, decades of inspection and maintenance, and coordination with neighbours.
For affected sites, coastal protection should now be considered alongside structural maintenance and environmental compliance as a core lifecycle issue, at acquisition, at design, and throughout the life of the development.
This publication is not intended to be, nor should it be taken as, legal advice; it is not a substitute for specific legal advice for specific circumstances. You should not take, nor refrain from taking, actions based on this publication. Chancery Law Corporation is not responsible for, and does not accept any responsibility for, any loss or damage that may arise from any reliance based on this publication.