New legislation outlines responsibilities for landowners to ensure a continuous line of defence around Singapore
Singapore, 3 February 2026 – The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) introduced the Coastal Protection Bill (CPB) for First Reading in Parliament today. The CPB safeguards Singapore’s coastline against rising sea levels and extreme weather events by establishing clear responsibilities of landowners for coastal protection and ensuring compliance with coastal protection standards.
2 As a low-lying nation, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the threat of rising sea levels1. Singapore already has coastal structures in place. Coastal landowners have been safeguarding their land plots against coastal erosion by building and maintaining structures like revetments and seawalls along the coast.
3 The CPB seeks to ensure a continuous line of coastal defence around Singapore. This will be achieved through clauses requiring landowners, including Ministries, Statutory Boards, and lessees (mainly companies), to implement coastal protection measures for their respective land plots. Coastal protection is a long-term endeavour, which requires years of planning and construction. The CPB is tabled now to give landowners and the industry sufficient notice and lead time to be familiar with the requirements.
4 Since 2021, Singapore has progressively carried out site-specific studies to develop tailored coastal protection plans for different segments of the coastline. The Government will implement most of the coastal protection measures as it owns 70% of the coastline. The remaining coastline is occupied by private landowners and lessees2 who will need to implement their own coastal protection measures.
5 Landowners will be given at least 10 years’ advance notice to implement coastal protection measures. The timelines for landowners to complete the measures will be aligned to the progress of the respective site-specific studies. This decentralised approach will allow landowners to have the flexibility of selecting measures that meet their needs and dovetailing coastal protection works with their planned developments.
6 In addition, the CPB will ensure the functionality of the coastal protection measures over time and give PUB powers to regulate these measures. Please refer to Annex for the key features of the CPB.
Support to be provided for landowners
7 The Government and PUB will provide landowners with financial and technical support (e.g. technical consultations) to meet the minimum coastal protection standards. More information on the support will be shared when ready.
Proactive engagements with stakeholders
8 In formulating the CPB, PUB conducted engagements with potentially affected waterfront companies to understand their concerns and gather feedback. MSE and PUB have taken their feedback into consideration in developing the CPB. We will continue to work closely with affected parties to address any technical concerns or feedback.
9 The CPB will amend the existing Sewerage and Drainage Act (SDA) and rename it as the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act (SDCPA). Parliament will debate the Bill at the Second Reading which is slated for March 2026. For the full text of the Bill, please refer to: https://go.gov.sg/coastalprotectionbillfirstreading.
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Footnotes:
[1] According to the Third National Climate Change Study, mean sea level is expected to rise by up to 1.15 metres by 2100. Coupled with storm surges and high tides, sea levels could rise by up to 5 metres. Singapore is particularly vulnerable to the threat of sea level rise, as around 30 per cent of our island is less than 5 metres above mean sea level.
[2] Lessees on leases longer than 3 years.
Annex: Key Features of Coastal Protection Bill
