Living Lab: $14 million awarded to projects testing coastal defences in Singapore

The stretch of Changi Beach, where environmentally friendly sea walls will be created. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Ang Qing Updated Jun 17, 2026, PM Summarise Singapore will test five coastal protection projects from 2027, backed by $14 million from PUB's Living Lab. One project is a self-sealing "living seawall" in Changi that can adapt to sea level rise and supporting marine biodiversity. Another project at Sentosa uses interlocking concrete blocks to blunt the impact of waves and erosion. AI generated SINGAPORE - An eco-friendly seawall that seals its own cracks and gradually adapts to rising sea levels is among five projects slated for testing along Singapore’s coastline from 2027. Backed $14 million from national water agency PUB’s Living Lab platform, these coastal protection projects could evolve from pilot projects into scalable solutions in the Republic. The initiative was announced 17, at the Coastal and Flood Resilience Leaders Summit at Singapore International Water Week. Developed by universities, contractors, and consultants, these test-bedded solutions are designed to fortify Singapore’s coastal and flood defences, for which the Government set aside $10 billion in 2020. Fu said: “ R&D projects, we can turn promising ideas into deployable solutions — and deployable solutions into infrastructure at scale. “As Singapore and cities around the world confront growing coastal and flood risks, one thing is clear: none of us can do this alone. But together, we can move faster and further.” The projects will be tested off Sentosa’s Tanjong Rimau, Changi, Yishun Dam and East Coast Park, PUB said in a statement. These sites were chosen based on technical, operational and environmental factors. Over three years, the Living Lab’s findings will determine the viability of these solutions for long-term, large-scale coastal protection. Off the coast of Changi, a team will trial a “living seawall” designed to incrementally respond to gradual sea-level rise while ensuring that marine biodiversity thrives. Yang Zi Qian, managing director of Delta Marine Consultants, explained that the approach could upend the traditional view that vertical seawalls are at odds with nature, while providing flexibility to gradually extend the wall as the sea rises. “The concept of an incremental build is going to be one of the essential elements of our coastal protection policy,” said Yang, who leads one of the project’s six partnering entities. “We don’t build a giant seawall all at once, nor do we under-protect. We build what we need, monitor future forecasts, and structurally scale it up accordingly to adapt to a changing climate.” The consortium also includes Japanese engineering firm Kajima Corporation, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Singapore Institute of Technology, Samwoh Innovation Centre, and Oung Construction.