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preceded the Master Plan which was published in 1983 by the Urban
Renewal Authority, and well ahead of public inspection of the Draft Plan for
the development which was presented in 1988. The entire timeline of the
development of Marina Bay is indicative of the systemic and persistent
mentality to land supply in the part of the Singapore government.
Furthermore, whilst the land reclamation work was completed in 1992, the
actual construction work of the current Marina Bay Financial District (MBFD)
did not start until mid-2000s. It is planned that MBFD will ultimately house
a total office space of more than 30 million sf, equivalent to the size of
Central, Hong Kong (Figure 33).

A remotely relevant comparison in Hong Kong would be the
West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), yet its size and investment is not
comparable to Marina Bay. The WKCD, at 40 hectares, is one-ninth of
the size of Marina Bay. Furthermore, investment in the WKCD is around
$21.6 billion while investment for Marina Bay Sands itself (the landmark
entertainment complex located at the Marina Bay), already totaled S$3.85
million (approximately $21 billion).

The case of Singapore clearly shows that the existence of a land
reserve is propitious for long-term land supply, and also to maintain the
competitive advantage that Hong Kong still enjoys. We agree that requiring
the government to outmaneuver the market is extremely challenging,
but the example of Marina Bay serves to show that having a land reserve
makes a policy response to market changes, whilst still admittedly difficult,
is within the realm of possibility.

Figure 33. The Marina Bay, Singapore

Source: Our Hong Kong Foundation.

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