Singapore River

From SgWiki

The Singapore River is a small river in terms of physical attributes, but of extreme historical importance to the country of Singapore, the political entity which shares its name.

The mouth of the Singapore River was the old Port of Singapore, being naturally sheltered by the southern islands. Historically, the city of Singapore initially grew around the port so the river mouth became the centre of trade, commerce and finance. To this day, area around the old Singapore River river mouth, the Downtown Core, remains the most expensive and economically important piece of land in Singapore.

Some parts of this area include quays such as Clarke Quay and Boat Quay, which generated trade and extensive demand for services when the boats that landed at the quay, Boat Quay itself handling three quarters of the shipping service in the 1860s. Shophouses and warehouses flourished around the quays due to their proximity to trade during the colonial era, but presently house various bars, pubs and restaurants, as well as antique shops.

There have been plans announced by the government of Singapore recently to dam the Singapore River at its outlet to the sea to create a new reservoir of freshwater. While damming this area would create a valuable source of fresh water for the tiny city-state, it would prevent the docking of ocean-going ships at the Singapore River which was arguably the original reason Singapore came into existence.

Whereas the original mouth of the Singapore River emptied into the straits between Singapore and its southern islands before major land reclamation took place, the Singapore River now empties into Marina Bay - an area of water partially enclosed by the reclamation work. The Port of Singapore is now located to the west of the island, using most of the south-west coast, and passenger ships to Singapore now typically berth at the Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront. Thus the Singapore River's economic role has shifted away from one that of trade, towards more a role accommodated for tourism and aesthetics for the commercial zone which encloses it.

Image:Singapore river panorama2.JPG