Mrs Christina Ong, Chairman of the National Parks Board

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1 It is my pleasure to be here today in the heart of Singapore’s future downtown district for the groundbreaking ceremony of Gardens by the Bay.

Singapore – A City-in-a-Garden

2 Over four decades of nation building, we have conscientiously planned and dedicated our efforts to make Singapore a beautiful tropical garden city. From the Singapore Botanic Gardens to East Coast Park, the network of green spaces which we have painstakingly built up have become favourite havens and playgrounds for Singaporeans of all ages, offering peace and tranquility as well as spaces for recreation and exercise.

3 Gardens by the Bay is the next big step in our journey to further enhance the experiences which our parks and gardens bring to the lives of Singaporeans.

4 Gardens by the Bay will be a national garden set in the heart of Singapore on prime waterfront land, for all Singaporeans to enjoy, to share with our families and friends day and night, all year round. It will be a special part of this place we call home, a place where we will spend time growing memories with our loved ones amidst lush greenery, spectacular blooms and wonderful sights. The Gardens, situated right at the doorsteps of our homes and workplaces, will endear itself to the hearts of all Singaporeans.

Marina Bay – A Garden City by the Bay

5 Marina Bay is the centrepiece of our new downtown. Over the next few years, many new developments will take shape at Marina Bay, including the Marina Bay Financial Centre, and the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. When fully developed, the Bay will be a vibrant centre for business, recreation and entertainment, providing a world-class live-work-play environment that all in Singapore can enjoy around the clock.

Value Propositions Offered by the Gardens

6 Gardens by the Bay is more than another signature project in Marina Bay. Not only will it enhance the quality of the new downtown, the Gardens will be critical to our effort to make Singapore a distinctive global city. It will offer three key value propositions.

7 First, the Gardens will be the unique jewel to the necklace of attractions at Marina Bay, and contribute significantly to the Bay area as a fascinating destination to live, work and play in, just like Central Park in New York and Hyde Park in London.

8 The value of Gardens by the Bay will not just be reflected in the enhanced quality of the ambience at the Bay area. It will also add value to the surrounding real estate.

9 Second, Gardens by the Bay will offer a compelling leisure experience for Singaporeans and visitors alike, and reinforce Singapore's branding as a unique tourism destination.

10 The Gardens is set to be a major tourist attraction, with an estimated annual visitorship of 2.7 million, contributing approximately $1 billion to the economy over a period of 10 years.

11 Third, Gardens by the Bay will boost the international standing of Singapore as a premier garden city. It will set us apart and keep us ahead of other emerging garden cities.

Phasing of Gardens by the Bay

12 In view of the scale involved, we will develop Gardens by the Bay in phases. The 54-hectare Gardens at Marina South will be developed in Phase 1 of the project, which is targeted for completion by end-2010. The Gardens at Marina East and Marina Centre are planned for subsequent development.

Highlights of Gardens at Marina South

13 The Gardens at Marina South will encapsulate colour, vibrancy, edutainment and sustainability. Let me share with you some of the highlights which we can look forward to:

(a) The Gardens will have two Cool Conservatories, a “Cool Moist” and a “Cool Dry” conservatory to replicate the environments in the Tropical Highland and Mediterranean regions respectively. The conservatories will display a range of habitats, flowers and plant-life, thus providing the opportunity for visitors to view cooler climate plants and flowers right here in Equatorial Singapore, in an eternal spring setting.

(b) The SuperTrees are another key attraction of the Gardens. These unique, tree-like structures act as “vertical gardens”, with heights ranging from 25 m to 50 m. The trunk of each SuperTree will be planted with greenery such as bromeliads, ferns and tropical flowering climbers, topped by a spreading canopy that will provide shade and shelter. At night, the SuperTrees will be lit to provide an attractive spectacle.

(c) There will also be themed gardens, such as the Horticultural Show Gardens to showcase the best of tropical horticulture and garden artistry, and the Plant Edutainment Gardens which will feature the theme of “plant use by man”. Together with another 10 ha of mass flowering and coloured foliage landscape, they will engage the senses of the visitors through its spectacle of colour, texture and fragrance.

A Sustainable Garden that Cares for the Environment

14 More than just an aesthetically stunning and horticulturally rich garden, the Gardens at Marina South is also designed with the environment in mind. It will adopt environmentally sustainable technology. In particular, the Cool Conservatories will be designed and built to be energy efficient, consuming less energy than an equivalent air-conditioned office building.

15 Public education is an important strategy in addressing climate change challenges and the Gardens at Marina South will support this thrust. As part of the edutainment offerings at the Gardens, the Cool Conservatories will feature plants from cooler climates and higher altitudes around the world. These habitats, with some of the rarest plant specimens, are threatened by climate change. Displaying them at the Gardens will help to promote awareness of the wonders of nature and the impact of climate change.

Conclusion

16 Today’s groundbreaking ceremony opens a new chapter in the development of gardens and parks in Singapore. Gardens by the Bay will help us transform Singapore into a “City-in-a-Garden”, where our homes are nestled within a beautiful tropical garden.

17 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the NParks team led by Dr Tan Wee Kiat for their hard work and dedication, as well as the various parties working on this project. This groundbreaking ceremony culminates many months of meticulous planning and thorough preparatory work and is an important milestone in the development of this landmark project. But, there is still a long way to go, so I urge everyone to keep up the effort, to deliver an iconic world-class gardens for all Singaporeans.

18 All of us will be monitoring the development works with excitement, and looking forward to the completion of the first phase of the Gardens in 2010.

19 Thank you.

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