The year ahead promises all kinds of brilliant new arrivals, including the $1 billion Gardens by the Bay, a new budget airline, an appetizing international food festival, and another world-first zoo experience. Hell, we’re even getting a Jawa transport from Star Wars (yes, really). Here’s a squizz of what’s to come.
1. Scoot
Singapore loves a discount, and a mighty big one is about to descend from the sky like manna from heaven. Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul budget airline, Scoot, which starts flying mid year, will be offering up to 40 percent off fares from traditional airlines. What the low-cost carrier lacks in frills it will make up for in “Scootitude.”
“It’s engaging, it’s a little bit informal, it’s a little bit quirky, it’s not exclusive or exclusionary, it has something for everyone,” explains CEO Campbell Wilson.
Sounds like Virgin to us (and that’s no bad thing). Wilson, who’s worked for Singapore Airlines for 15 years, is the first to admit that the vibe is pretty much the same. “The overall spirit is similar,” he says.
Scoot will be flying ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 777s and serve destinations with a flight time of roughly five hours and above from Singapore. Sydney and as yet undetermined (as we went to press) cities in China have already been announced as Scoot’s first flight routes, and other destinations are being busily negotiated at present.
As you might expect, the comp are running scared. On hearing the Scoot launch announcement, AirAsia supremo Tony Fernandes offered this tweet: “SIA has no creativity. A confused puppy as an airline. Confused. Scoot? Aiyo. Sounds like a man in a hurry.”
Confused? The world’s best airline knows what it’s doing. And forty percent off is the kind of confusion we like.
When: Mid-year
Where: Changi Airport, Terminal 2, www.flyscoot.com
2. Reflections at Keppel Bay
The six towers of this strange, Middle Earth-type residential project topped out a while ago so Singapore has already had quite some time to reflect on Reflections at Keppel Bay. We like what we see, it seems. Most of the units have already been sold (and you don’t even get them forever, just a 99-year lease) despite an exorbitant price tag—around $2,200 per sq. ft. with the highest price hitting $2,600 per sq. ft. For that you get an uninterrupted 750-meter shore line, a 100,000 sq. ft. reflecting pool, a full-length Olympic pool, children’s pool, lap pool, Jacuzzi, gymnasium, landscaped sky bridges, a two-storey clubhouse, tennis courts... and the best bragging rights in town until the next luxury residence comes along.
When: First half of the year
3. Circle Line Extension
Not the sexiest entrant in this list, we will admit; but practical nonetheless. Two new train stations on the SMRT Circle Line—Bayfront and Marina Bay—will open this month, boosting connectivity to the new downtown area. Five entrances at Bayfront will link to MBS and Gardens by the Bay. Trains will run at intervals of seven minutes, and commuters are expected to number about 400,000 within six to nine months. Let’s just hope it doesn’t break down…
When: Jan 14
4. Publishing Awards
Following the success of last year’s Singapore Writers’ Festival and our increasingly prolific literary scene (more indie publishers, talented new voices), the Singapore Book Publishers Association (SBPA) will be launching the inaugural Publishing Awards in November to recognize our local writing talents. Categories include best novel, best debut work, best non-fiction title, best cover design and best e-book.
"We feel this is the right time to have our very own Singapore awards and to recognize outstanding work by publishers, authors book retailers and designers," says SBPA President Triena Ong. "This award will be the Oscars of Singapore's publishing world!" That’s what they said the last time about the Singapore Film Festival, so we’ll just have to wait and see…
When: November
5. 4G
SingTel technically rolled out their 4G service in late December, but most of us will only get the full benefit of it this year. For now, network coverage is mainly in the CBD and pockets such as Bukit Panjang, Boon Lay, Bedok and Changi, but will expand to 80 percent of users by the end of the year and to 95 percent by the first quarter of 2013. Competitors StarHub and M1 (which was the first to roll out 4G in June 2011, but only to its enterprise customers) have also said they’ll launch their 4G services in the second half of 2012. So what can we expect? Try mobile speeds five to 10 times faster than current 3G speeds, so downloading a video to your iPhone will be a breeze. Think of all the K-pop videos being downloaded on the SMRT. Actually, let’s not…
When: Mid-year
6. Savour 2012
It wouldn’t be Singapore without a new food fair, and this year sees the launch of Savour 2012, an all-in-one wining and dining experience. For three days, Marina Bay Street Circuit Paddock & Pit Building will play host to a veritable feast from international chefs such as three-Michelin-starred L’Arpegeat’s Alain Passard (Paris), Bo Innovations’ Alvin Leung (Hong Kong) and two-Michelin-starred Chez Dominique’s Hans Välimäki (Helsinki), as well as locally-based chefs like Emmanuel Stroobant, Roberto Galetti and Gunther Hubrechsen at the alfresco Gourmet Village. After you’ve had your fill, head over to the Gourmet Auditorium for a master class by more of the world’s top chefs and sommeliers.
Dean & Deluca
Another new foodie arrival in 2012 is American brand Dean & Deluca, which is slated to open in the second quarter at Orchard Central. The flagship store will be selling its usual goodies like gourmet cured meats, pastas, sauces, vinegars, herbs and salts sourced from all over the world, and will also house a café with the option to dine-in.
When: Mar 30-Apr 1 (tickets available from Jan 10)
Where: Marina Bay Street Circuit Paddock & Pit Building, 1 Republic Blvd., 6736-1458, www.savour.sg
7. Marine Life Park
Step aside Atlanta, because Singapore is about to steal your spot as home to the world’s largest oceanarium. Marine Life Park at Resorts World Sentosa will feature 100,000 aquatic species such as giant rays, sharks, seahorses and crustaceans, as well as family-orientated water attractions including reef swims, a wave pool and waterslides. MLP’s stated mission is to promote marine education, conservation and research, and even before the oceanarium’s opening it has participated in shark-finning education programs, coral conservation and anti-poaching initiatives in the Galapagos Islands. It does not, however, have an unblemished record: its purchase of 27 bottlenose dolphins, of which two have already died in captivity, has attracted a good deal of controversy. Local animal welfare group ACRES, which otherwise welcomes the opening of the oceanarium, is spearheading a campaign to have the dolphins released.
When: Unknown at press time
Where: Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway, www.rwsentosa.com/Attractions/MarineLifePark
8. Gardens by the Bay
Those two, distinctly unmissable domes next to Marina Bay finally come into bloom when the $1 billion Gardens by the Bay opens in June. The domes, which are actually conservatories, have already proven a big hit with the public, drawing some 300,000 visitors when they opened for a week-long preview in November. But the domes make up just 5 percent of the sprawling 101-hectare site, which comprises three waterfront gardens straddling both sides of the bay—Bay South (home to the conservatories), Bay East and Bay Central.
Darren Oh, Gardens by the Bay Assistant Director of Business, explained more when we toured the Gardens: “It’s part of the government’s master plan to transform Singapore into a garden city, and Gardens by the Bay is one of the key components. The idea is ‘a city in a garden’ as opposed to a ‘garden in a city.’”
The domes will feature over a quarter of a million plants, mainly from places with a Mediterranean-type climate, including bottle trees from Argentina that are over a thousand years old. While entry to the domes will be ticketed, the rest of the Gardens will be free.
And there’s more to enjoy here than just plants. The Gardens will have an outdoor concert area able to accommodate a crowd of 30,000 (compared to Fort Canning’s 10,000), and 12 “super trees”—vertical steel structures ranging from 25-50 meters high with a living “skin” of climbing plants. The tallest super tree will have a chill-out bar/café at the top where you can marvel at Singapore’s latest icon. Throw in a restaurant by Michelin superstar Jason Atherton in one of the domes and we’ve got ourselves more temptation than the Garden of Eden.
The inspiration for the domes comes from the Eden Project in Cornwall, about six hours drive from London. (See right)
When: June
Where: 18 Marina Gardens Dr., www.gardensbythebay.org.sg
9. International Cruise Terminal
Our city’s new ICT at Marina South is going to reinforce Singapore’s prominence as one of the region’s premier port cities and give rival cruise ports New York and Barcelona, currently the world’s top two, a run for their money. The design of the terminal is based on the idea of waves breaking onto a shore. This cruise terminal supersizes our existing port at Keppel Harbour and looks set to berth some mighty big cruisers, including the Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas, the largest cruise ship ever to call in Asia when it docks in May.
When: Mid-year
Where: 61 Marina Coastal Dr.
10. “The Sandcrawler”
Star Wars comes to Singapore in the form of Lucasfilm’s new Singapore office. The building bears a very distinct, and entirely intentional, resemblance to the design of the Sandcrawler, the large, slow-moving treaded transport used by the Jawas in the original Star Wars movie. The facility made of glass and steel will house extensions of several major Lucasfilm divisions, primarily gaming development, visual effects and TV and feature animation. It will also have retail shopping, elevated public gardens and, as you might expect, a movie theater.
When: Mid to late 2012
11. Singapore University of Technology & Design
Singapore gets a brand spanking new seat of learning this year when the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) begins matriculation in April. A collaboration with the world renowned MIT, of which founding dean Professor Thomas L Magnanti is an alum, SUTD will offer four specializations: architecture and sustainable design, engineering product development, engineering systems and design, and information systems technology and design.
“My dream is that SUTD will do for Singapore what MIT and Stanford have done for Massachusetts and Silicon Valley, as well as for the US and the world,” says Magnanti. “It will become an intellectual hub and an engine of growth.”
When: April. SUTD is already holding workshops, the first for 2012 is “Women in Technology and Design” on Jan 27, 2-5pm.
Where: 20 Dover Dr., 6303-6600, www.sutd.edu.sg
12. River Safari
Whereas Gardens by the Bay is bringing the world’s plants to Singapore, River Safari is bringing its rivers. The $160 million attraction from Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the same crew behind Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and Jurong Bird Park, will bring the world’s eight greatest rivers—the Amazon, the Congo, the Nile, the Ganges, the Mississippi, the Murray River, the Mekong and the Yangtze—and its wildlife to town in an attraction that is half walking trail, half river cruise.
River Safari will feature some 300 animals including 38 endangered species including the Mekong’s Giant Catfish and Giant Stingray, the Amazon’s Capybara (the world’s largest living rodent), and two Giant Pandas.
River Safari’s two undeniable stars are Jia Jia and Kai Kai, state-gifts from China to Singapore and the first permanent residents of their kind in the city-state. The pandas, aged three and four, will arrive in March.
When: October
Where: 80 Mandai Lake Rd., www.riversafari.com.sg
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