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Geospatial technology has played a significant role in Singapore's march into the league of developed nations within a short span of time. Not content to rest on the achievements so far, Singapore is actively implementing the technology to secure its growth

he leading financial and business hub of South tion management. The practice of sharing land informa- East Asia, the city-nation of Singapore has been tion among the government agencies dates back to the Tsuccessively rated as one of the most favoured 1980s. 1981 saw the launch of the Civil Service Comput- destinations globally to work and live. That Singapore erisation Programme (CSCP) to enhance the effective- has achieved this feat in a remarkably short time since ness and efficiency of public administration. CSCP saw its independence in 1965 speaks volumes not just the introduction of proprietary GIS systems into individual about the country's vision and policies, but also the land-related government agencies. prudent use of technology in establishing the right It was during this time that the Singapore infrastructure that makes the city a destination to be government noticed that with the newly acquired IT reckoned with. resources, agencies had started to migrate from tracing paper to digitised maps. However, a lack of THE GEOSPATIAL BEGINNING… integration and disparate electronisation efforts of the The geospatial journey of Singapore began by design various land-related agencies resulted in duplication, rather than default, finding its genesis in land informa- inaccuracy and inconsistent land data across the

GeospatialWorld I October 2011 31 Singapore public sector. Consequently, the government Emphasis on ICT realised that the public administration could be greatly For more than 30 years now, Singapore Government has improved if data were treated as a corporate resource tapped advances in information and communication tech- and shared across the civil service through a centralised nologies (ICT) to transform public administration and data hub. This led to the conceptualisation of Land Data service delivery. It has launched several plans to enhance Hub (LDH). the nation's economic competitiveness and ability to innovate using ICT, from the Civil Service Computerisa- BUSINESS DRIVERS tion Programme in the 1980s, to the e-Government Action Plan I and II from 2000 to 2006. The Intelligent Stable economy Nation 2015 (iN2015) is a 10-year master plan with the Singapore is considered as one of the most open and vision to build Singapore into "An intelligent nation, a competitive markets in the world. The 2011 World Bank global city, powered by infocomm." Another plan is the Ease of Doing Business Index ranks Singapore as the Master plan 2011-2015 (or eGov 2015). Through this plan, best country in the world to do business - ahead of Hong the government aims to shift from a "government-to-you" Kong and New Zealand.Between the 1960s and the approach to a "government-with-you" approach in its 1980s, the manufacturing industry attracted numerous delivery of government electronic services (or e-services). multi-national companies and foreign direct investment into the country. This became the foundation for Singa- GEOSPATIAL IMPLEMENTATION pore to grow into one of the most advanced and techno- logically driven economies in the world. According to the Land information 2011 Index of Economic Freedom, Singapore is the 2nd Land information is the biggest consumer of geospatial freest economy in the world. Singapore's business free- technology in Singapore and also the biggest input dom score is exceptionally high - it takes three days to provider for the technology. Singapore Land Authority start a business in Singapore compared to the world's (SLA) optimises land resources, maintains the national average of thirty-four days. title registry and land survey systems and promotes Singapore's economy staged a spectacular usage of geospatial information. SLA has developed comeback in 2010. After contracting to 1.3 percent in many systems and infrastructure leveraging on cutting- 2009, GDP growth for 2010 is estimated to be nearly edge geospatial technology. 15 percent.

Mature government framework Geospatial Initiatives in land information Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the national geospatial Initiative Details data agency of Singapore, is the front runner in the Licensing of digi- Businesses can apply for a licence to use the digitised tised land infor- land information to meet their business needs or to create development and consumption of geospatial technology. mation products and services e.g. maps for street directory The setting up Land Data Hub (LDH) gave impetus to the Geospace It is a portal for government agencies to share and access geospatial data. It was launched in 2011 by SLA concept of data sharing which was further given thrust by the NSDI initiative, called Singapore Geospatial Production of Maps of Singapore or various districts of Singapore can Maps be customized according to user requirements Collaborative Environment, or SG-SPACE, provides an infrastructure, mechanism and policies to allow Integrated Land INLIS is a one-stop online service specially designed for Information Ser- property buyers, real estate agents, valuers, developers, convenient access to quality geospatial information vice (INLIS) architects, surveyors, engineers, lawyers and the general in usable form across government agencies and the public to have quick and easy access to land and property information. Through INLIS, SLA and government agen- public. The architecture of SG-SPACE allows agencies to cies can offer its information services to the public.

share data via the system without the need for each to OneMap OneMap is a common map platform for public agencies to have their own individual portal. The policy framework publish information and deliver map-based services. It is also open to use by anyone as a platform for innovative applica- sets standards for data collection and sharing, with a tions - including individuals, business entities and community organisations. central clearinghouse, and common tools and services.

32 Geospatial World I October 2011 Geospatial initiative in industrial infrastructure “Given Singapore's land constraints, there are always competing demands for land to support housing, business- Initiative Details es, commerce, recreation, utilities, and transportation. GIS GIS Dash- Launched in 2010, GISD enables officers to perform is one of the important tools used in Singapore to tackle board(GISD) search, query, thematic mapping, drawing and editing of the challenges of land use planning” graphics, as well as plan generation. GISD is also linked to SLA's OneMap, and officers can switch between the JTC base map and OneMap's street map to look at surrounding - Peter Quek Ser Hwee land information, or even to create a hybrid map Director, Information Systems , Urban Redevelopment Authority

Industrial infrastructure using GIS for land use planning since 1995 when it imple- Efficient industrial infrastructure development has been mented the first GIS in URA called the Integrated Land one of the key factors in establishing Singapore as a Use System (ILUS), which was the first integrated GIS regional and global economic hub. Industrial infrastruc- implemented in Singapore, informs Peter Quek Ser ture development in Singapore is spearheaded by JTC Hwee, Director, Information Systems, URA. In 2006, URA Corporation that extensively uses geospatial technology migrated ILUS to Integrated Planning and Land Use Sys- in planning, promotion and development of a dynamic tem (iPLAN). iPLAN is among the world's first nationwide industrial landscape. enterprise GIS for urban planning. JTC started using MapInfo as a land planning tool in 1995. In 2004, JTC launched a Web-based GIS (WGIS) Housing using Esri ArcGIS to search for and analyse spatial infor- Providing affordable homes of quality and value has been mation with greater efficiency, informs. WGIS has now integral to nation building in Singapore. Singapore been replaced with the new portal, GIS Dashboard. aggressively leverages GIS in public housing, through its Housing and Development Board. As a repository for HDB Urban development with more than 100 map layers, HDB’s corporate GIS, For a nation that catapulted itself from a third-world Integrated Land Information System (ILIS) ensures that country into the league of developed nations in just one data is "captured once and used many times" and is generation, efficient urban development has been one of sharable across the departments, says Loh Loon Tong, the pillars of Singapore' evolution. Director (Properties & Land), HDB. Singapore's national land use planning and conserva- With more than 80 percent of Singapore's population tion authority, Urban Redevelopment Authority, has been living in HDB estates, the challenge for HDB is to

Key geospatial projects in urban development Geospatial initiatives in housing

Project Details Platform / Applications Details Master Plan The Master Plan is the statutory land use plan which guides Integrated Land Informa- The Corporate GIS of HDB, ILIS has grown from a 2008 Singapore's development in the medium term over the next 10 tion System (ILIS) local GIS serving mainly internal departments to an to 15 years. The Master Plan shows the permissible land use enterprise GIS serving and reaching out to many and density for developments in Singapore. more users, including the public. In the beginning, iPLAN was used to digitise and prepare the electronic it was a local GIS offering full GIS functionalities to versions of the draft Master Plan, as well as Special and only specialised users. Today, it is a multi-faceted Detailed Controls Plans. The digitised Master Plan was enterprise GIS offering intranet and internet Web later published via the iPLAN Internet Map System (IMS) as GIS. part of the public consultation exercise and about 200,000 viewers accessed the IMS during the launch of the public con- Intranet Web GIS - ILIS ILIS EMAP is the HDB intranet Web-GIS offering sultation on the draft Master Plan. E-Map a simple client interface for internal users to view Mobile/ With the increasing use of smart phones and tablet devices such information and carry out simple GIS functions such Smartphone as iPhone and iPad, URA has implemented smart phone versions as map overlay, simple spatial query or analysis and GIS of Master Plan 2008 and property market information in-house. map printing. URA is now working on making more of its geospatial eServices available on different mobile devices and operating systems. Internet Web GIS - ILIS Web-Map Services are available on the HDB Centralised Map Ser- website via the newly launched ILIS Centralised Map 3D GIS Recognising the potential of 3D GIS, URA has entered into a vices Services. This features an easy and intuitive map collaboration with leading GIS companies in 2010 to explore the interface for users to find the relevant information integration of GIS and 3D digital urban models to facilitate physi- they need. cal planning and urban design Works

GeospatialWorld I October 2011 33 strengthen the communication of clear, timely and Utilities authoritative information to the public in a cost-effective Electricity: SP PowerGrid, a member of Singapore Power way. Web-GIS is set to play a bigger role within HDB's Group, manages Singapore's electricity and gas trans- enterprise GIS in meeting this challenge. mission and distribution networks. SP PowerGrid has embarked on next generation geospatial enterprise plat- Transportation form. The new platform will help SPPG in the manage- , being the main government ment of daily operations for the Energy Utilities Network. agency for land transport developments in Singapore, in In addition, SPPG will have improved access to outage the course of building land transport infrastructure such information and incidents through intuitive user inter- as RTS lines and major expressways, amassed a wealth faces, and be able to continue to respond to and rectify of information pertaining to the soil structures surround- outage incidents efficiently in the face of growing cus- ing the structural foundations of land transport infra- tomer demands. structure projects. Goh Gin Howe, Deputy Director (IT Water: Singapore's national water agency, Public Planning & Governance), LTA informs that the civil engi- Utilities Board, is strengthening its water management neering domain utilises GIS technology to capture bore- system. The organisation has embarked on Intelligent hole information for soil analysis, planning of construc- Water Management System (IWMS). IWMS aims to tion site excavation, foundation design and tunnel align- enhance PUB's capability to integrate real-time informa- ment. As safety is a primary objective of LTA in the plan- tion on water resources in Singapore and manage water ning, design, construction of land transport infrastruc- operations across the entire water supply, water catch- ture, LTA has deployed GIS-related technology to this end. ment, used water and drainage systems more efficiently. LTA has committed SGD 60 bn for its various infrastruc- Leveraging geospatial asset management system maps, ture projects to improve land transportation in Singapore. the IWMS will visually display critical information includ- ing the location of water incidents such as damaged or Key railway projects in Singapore leaking pipes. Project Status/estimated completion time Total value of the project Parks management Circle Line Ongoing; project to be completed by > USD 5 bn (CCL) fourth quarter of 2011. (Final stage The identification as a Garden City in the tropics is the X opening 8th Oct 2011) factor that has contributed to Singapore's distinctiveness Downtown Ongoing; the Downtown Line (DTL) USD 9.9 bn and competitive advantage. Singapore takes its green Line will be built in three stages, with Stage 1 to be completed in 2013, Stage 2 to cover and recreational spaces very seriously and exten- be completed in 2015 and Stage 3 in 2017. sively uses geospatial technology to manage the same.

Doubling of Ongoing USD 15 bn National Parks Board (NParks) is responsible for rail network providing and enhancing the greenery of the city. Beyond Tuas West Ongoing, scheduled to be completed green infrastructure, NParks is committed to enhancing extension by 2016 the quality of life through creating memorable recreation- Thomson Announced with completion in 2018 Line al experiences and lifestyles.

Eastern Announced with completion in 2020 Region Line Geospatial project in park management

Key road projects in Singapore Project Details Status

Project Status/estimated Value of the project GIS-based This GIS-based tree management and trend In pipeline. completion time tree manage- analysis system can facilitate long term policy for- Projected ment and mulation of tree management for inter-agencies. implementa- North-South Recently announced USD 5.5 bn trend analy- By analysing the tree failure data geospatially, it tion Expressway sis system will allow better visualisation of failure trend. This in 2013 Marina Coastal Ongoing USD 3.1 bn in turn, translates to the identification of tree Expressway species which are storm vulnerable geospatially such that remedial actions such as an enhanced New Sentosa Ongoing; projected to maintenance regime can be implemented to bet- Gateway Tunnel be completed by 2015 ter manage these trees.

34 Geospatial World I October 2011 WAY FORWARD OneMap: The game changer

An application that is poised to change the geospatial ecosystem of Emerging applications Singapore, OneMap is a complete, accurate, authoritative, high resolution Other than the traditional users, a number of segments basemap for all government bodies, all citizens and all businesses within are realising the benefits of the technology. Food and Singapore. This interactive map system, launched by SLA, is an integrated online geospatial platform that provides reliable, timely and accurate loca- veterinary sector is one such example. Agri-Food and tion-based information and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, which works towards services to the public. maintaining a safe and steady supply of food, as well OneMap is user-friendly and as in nurturing the country's flora and fauna, mainly convenient for users to lever- age on its base maps to cre- uses GIS for disease control. Under the GIS initiative, ate new applications with AVA geo-references existing data of premises, establish- their own data through the ment (such as animal establishments), and import/export use of an API. This allows sharing of spatial content information. AVA has also shared the developed using internet services, GIS layer with other agencies, informs an AVA accessible on desktop and spokesperson. mobile platforms. OneMap is a multi-agency collaborative initiative built in a common base map of Sin- Use of geospatial technology in the private sector, gapore. A host of government agencies are participating in this endeavour. most notably amongst banking, real estate, insurance It offers an opportunity for every organisation that could not afford to lever- and finance, is on the rise. One of the key factors is the age the benefit of geospatial technology earlier, as they do not have to install, update, or own anything. They simply access it via internet. availability of data. Commercial data sets are now avail- able through companies like Navteq, observes Bill Shep- herd, Strategic Business Development, Esri Singapore. Climate change is another sector. Singapore is address- of data formats and data sets amongst various agencies ing issues concerning climate change impacts through and technology platforms would play a key role in the an inter-agency technical group, led by the National Envi- future utility of geospatial technology. Data sharing levels ronmental Agency. The impact cuts across different sec- too are at advanced levels, however initiatives are on to tors – land use, town planning, coastal and water further enhance data sharing. resources management etc and the analysis calls for a lot of precise data. GIS acts as a platform to manage and Market expansion analyse the cross-sector data, informs Lim Tian Kuay, Even though Singapore is home to a number of geospa- Deputy Director, Climate Studies, Climate Change Pro- tial product and service providers, users feel that the GIS gramme Department, National Environment Agency. industry could do with more well-established market players. Current situation may leave clients with limited Awareness initiatives choices when selecting GIS products for their is taking aggressive initiatives to spread GIS platforms, opines a JTC spokesperson. awareness about geospatial technology and groom geospatial professionals. SLA is working with the Ministry CONCLUSION of Education (MOE) in this direction. Basic GIS courses The early adoption of technology has been instrumental have been rolled out to the public. SLA is also conducting in helping Singapore achieve the status of a globally innovative contests to enhance interest and awareness favoured destination that it enjoys today. Its compact size about geography and GIS among school students. no doubt comes handy where issues like implementing initiatives and getting consensus on data sharing are Standardisation and data sharing concerned. But more than that, it is the concerted, ongo- Singapore realised the benefits of standardisation early ing efforts and initiatives to increase the usage of the on and therefore data standardisation levels are fairly technology that has helped the country achieve the status high in Singapore. Service providers feel that further of a mature tech user. standardisation of technology that would allow portability Deepali Roy, [email protected]

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