Singapore is exploring the feasibility of building undersea tunnels connecting the mainland to Pulau Tekong, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said at the National Day Rally on August 23, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Currently, Pulau Tekong has no land link; military recruits travel there by boat [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Building bridges is unfeasible due to busy shipping channels, prompting the government to consider going under the sea instead. "The obvious solution is to build bridges, but that would cut across busy shipping channels. So, if we can’t go over the sea, we will try to go under it," Wong said [1].
Singapore has experience with underground road tunnels but has never constructed undersea tunnels of this scale [1]. The project is part of long-term infrastructure plans described as a major engineering undertaking [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. If realized, the tunnel would bring Pulau Tekong and other outer islands closer to the mainland, easing travel for recruits. Wong said, "One day, our recruits may have an even easier journey to Tekong" [1].
Pulau Tekong was originally two separate islands—Tekong Besar and Tekong Kechil—connected through land reclamation and a completed polder [1, 2, 3, 4]. Further reclamation is planned at the island's southern end to expand training space for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) [1, 2, 4, 5]. After meeting SAF needs, about 500 hectares of land, roughly the size of the Toa Payoh housing estate, will remain available for future civilian use, though no decision has been made on its use yet. Wong noted, "We have not decided what to use this land for, and we don’t have to decide now. What matters is that we have the space, and that gives us valuable options for the future" [1].
At the rally, Wong also outlined other long-term island development plans. These include land reclamation to create an 800-hectare Long Island off East Coast Park, with preparatory works expected by the end of 2026 [3, 5]. Sentosa and Pulau Brani are slated for transformation featuring new attractions, a Downtown South resort, and improved connectivity with reclamation between the two islands [3, 5]. A new road link is planned to Jurong Island alongside a connection from Jurong to the planned Western island, formed from Semakau, Bukom, Pulau Sudong, and others [3]. Wong said, "That’s what long-term planning is about. The country’s pioneers built for the current generation, and the current government will do so for the generations that follow" [5].
