'No plans' to merge cruise centres for now as URA, STB clarify report on consolidation
The Straits Times on Monday (May 13) said that Singapore Cruise Centre and Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore would undergo a merger in the coming years, following an interview with Urban Redevelopment Authority chief Lim Eng Hwee.
An aerial view of the Royal Caribbean's Spectrum of the Seas at Marina Bay Cruise Centre Terminal in Singapore on Jul 17, 2022. (Photo: iStock)
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SINGAPORE: A news report announcing the merger of Singapore's two cruise centres was wide of the mark, with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) issuing a statement saying there are no plans for this to happen.
The joint clarification from URA and STB was sent to the media on Monday (May 13) night in response to a Straits Times article published earlier in the day titled "S'pore's cruise facilities to be consolidated, freeing up space along Greater Southern Waterfront".
The article, drawn from an interview with URA chief executive Lim Eng Hwee, stated that Singapore's two cruise centres would be merged in the "coming years", with the Singapore Cruise Centre, located at HarbourFront, set to move.
The purpose of this, according to article, would be to create a continuous promenade as the government "stitch(es) up the entire waterfront" – stretching from Labrador Park to the future Long Island.
In its email on Monday night, URA and STB clarified that the headline of the article referred to "the longer-term consolidation of cruise infrastructure in Singapore, which is currently under study".
"There are currently no plans to merge the operations of Singapore Cruise Centre with Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore," said the two government bodies.
URA's Mr Lim, according to the article, had said that plans to merge the cruise terminals are an example of infrastructure consolidation, which the government has used in recent years to free up land for other purposes.
"With the port moving, there's a lot of infrastructural work that needs to be done – some reclamation, and the cruise hub will be formed as part of that," Mr Lim was quoted as saying.
"And when all the infrastructure is done, we will progressively build up the area."
In response to queries from CNA, URA said on Tuesday: "(The Straits Times) had an interview with URA CEO Mr Lim Eng Hwee as part of URA's 50th Anniversary.
"During the interview, in response to the question on how plans to expand Marina Bay Cruise Centre would affect residents in Marina South, Mr Lim had shared that as part of the plans for the Greater Southern Waterfront, the port as well as cruise infrastructure would be consolidated in the longer term."
This reflected URA's planning strategy to free up large land parcels to meet future needs and create land buffers to restructure Singapore's urban environment, the authority said.
URA noted that the Straits Times article "had originally used the word 'merge' in place of 'consolidate'".
"As the use of the word 'merge' could be misconstrued by readers to mean a merger of existing cruise terminals or existing cruise operations, which is not the case, we issued a clarification to all media and (the Straits Times) has edited their article," it said.
