red and black boat on river during daytime

Singapore River Cruise around the Anderson Bridge, a truss bridge that connecting Raffles Place and Merlion Park. Photo by V -Unsplash

Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Singapore River Cruise


 

Have you ever felt the need to get away from the city’s noise and bustle but not too far? Join the Singapore River Cruise and board a bumboat to simultaneously learn about Singapore’s history and modernity.

Bumboats on this storied canal serve as a reminder to locals and tourists alike of Singapore’s timeless rustic attractiveness.

The Singapore River Cruise (SRC) has been preserving the history of this important river for more than 20 years. Both tourists and residents have come to associate the river with its bumboats.

These are top 10 remarkable facts about Singapore River Cruise:

1.Heavy traffic on the Singapore River

Due to the city’s fast development and growing trade, there was a lot of traffic on the Singapore River starting in 1819. In addition, it introduced water contamination from nearby industries’ waste, sewage, and other by-products being dumped into the river.

Waste from pig and duck farms, unclean buildings, street hawkers, and vegetable whole dealers were among the causes of water pollution entering the Singapore River and Kallang Basin. Along the Singapore River, there were additional operations related to rivers such transportation, boat construction, and repairs. 

These boats’ and lighters’ garbage, oil spills, and wastewater contributed to the rivers’ pollution. The Singapore River and the Kallang River were among the rivers that Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew urged Singaporeans to clean up in 1977.

2.Singapore River has re-emerged as a pristine body of water teeming with marine life

The Singapore River has seen tremendous change as a result of these cleaning initiatives, going from being heavily populated and filthy to being clean and home to marine life. The Singapore River clean up’s effectiveness has been linked to the return of monitor lizards and otters to the area.

3.Major land reclamation took place along Singapore River course

red and black boat on river during daytime

Singapore River Cruise around the Anderson Bridge, a truss bridge that connecting Raffles Place and Merlion Park. Photo by V -Unsplash

The Singapore River presently drains into Marina Bay, a body of water that is largely confined by the land reclamation work, as opposed to the original mouth, which before extensive land reclamation work spilled into Singapore Straits and its southern islands.

4.The Marina Reservoir currently includes the Singapore River

After the Singapore River’s outflow to the sea was dammed to construct a new freshwater reservoir, the river is now a part of the Marina Reservoir. The Marina Barrage is the name of the dam.

5.Singapore River has a couple of sculptures

Along the Singapore River, there are many sculptures. Many of these show how people in the early days of Singapore lived and worked along the river. 

Sculptures of note include: 

  • Chong Fah Cheong’s First Generation and Chern Lian Shan’s Fishing at the Singapore River 
  • Aw Tee Hong’s The River Merchants 
  • Malcolm Koh’s “A Great Emporium” and Chern Lian Shan’s “From Chettiars to Financiers” 
  • Created by a variety of artists, Singapura Cats

6.A few tunnels and bridges on the Singapore River 

red and black boat on river during daytime

Singapore River Cruise around the Anderson Bridge, a truss bridge that connecting Raffles Place and Merlion Park. Photo by V -Unsplash

14 bridges were constructed across the Singapore River between 1819, the year the first wooden jetty and bridge were erected, and 2015 (or 17, although Marina Reservoir, where the estuary is now located, is considered a Singapore River).

Only boats and ferries could cross the river prior to 1819. A few of the bridges were destroyed and rebuilt, or had their functions altered (traffic bridge in pedestrian bridge and the like)

7.The Singapore River is approximately 3.2km long

The Singapore River extends more than two kilometres beyond its original source at Kim Seng Bridge as Alexandra Canal, as far as the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue, and is about 3.2 kilometres long from its source at Kim Seng Bridge to where it empties into Marina Bay.

8.The Marina Barrage, a brand-new Singapore River extension, was finished in 2008

The Barrage is a dam that spans the Marina Channel and was built to prevent flooding and to build a reservoir. It includes nine gates and seven pumps that keep rainwater within while pumping seawater to the open ocean. The $226 million dam was also Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew’s imaginative plan for the river.

9.The Singapore River clean-up took 10 years and cost the Government $170 million 

red and black boat on river during daytime

Singapore River Cruise around the Anderson Bridge, a truss bridge that connecting Raffles Place and Merlion Park. Photo by V -Unsplash

A huge evacuation of roughly 4,000 squatters, as well as hawkers and vegetable vendors whose daily garbage flowed into the river, was required for the clean-up. Squatters were given public housing, while street vendors were convinced to relocate to hawker centres. 

The Port of Singapore Authority relocated hundreds of bumboats to a new, lighter anchorage at Pasir Panjang so they could transport cargo from warehouses along the river to ships at sea.

10.The Singapore River Cruise has a bunch of riverside eateries and international cuisine 

Take a stroll along the Singapore River to sample flavours from around the world as you broaden your palate. 

With a trip to Tongkang River Boat Dining, travel back in time to Singapore in the nineteenth century. This unique restaurant serves Western food and is located on one of Singapore’s last remaining tongkangs (light wooden trade boats).

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