Hong Kong’s Government Is Spending Billions Taking Land from the Sea
Through expensive, time intensive, and complicated land reclamation projects, Hong Kong is continually extending out and into the water, where there wasn’t land before.
Six square kilometers of Istanbul’s land reclaimed from the sea
Six square kilometers of land have been gained from Istanbul coasts and opened for urban use by filling up the sea. With the acceleration of such infrastructure work at the start of the millennium, professionals are warning about risks.
Dubai set to build $1.7b man-made islands Marsa Al Arab by 2020
Dubai is growing again, and again it’s building into the sea.
How Singapore is creating more land for itself
The island off the southern tip of Malaysia reveals the future of building in an epoch of dwindling territory.
How and why China is building islands in the South China Sea
China has been building manmade bases over some of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea since 2014, specifically targeting shallower areas, sandbanks, and reefs—islands, the shallower the better; a place that won’t sink under a load of concrete.
What Happens to a Coral Reef When an Island is Built on Top?
Seven such coral reefs are being turned into islands, with harbors and landing strips by the Chinese military, and it is destroying a rich ecological network. “It’s the worst thing that has happened to coral reefs in our lifetime.”
U.S. Hopes Chinese Island-Building Will Spur Asian Response
Washington hopes Southeast Asian nations to take a more united stance against China’s rapid acceleration this year of construction on disputed reefs.
Central Govt Halts Jakarta’s $40 Billion Reclamation Project
Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta– home to 10 million people – is sinking into the sea at between 2.9 and 6.7 inches per year. To save the megacity from drowning: a $40 billion land reclamation and sea wall project estimated to take 30 years to complete. However, today, the central government has decided to suspend its implementation as the viability of the project is now questioned.
Beating land pressures
High land prices, particularly in coastal areas, make reclamation a relatively ‘cheap’ option for many port expansion projects.