Published by the Public Utilities Board (“PUB”) in June 2026, the Code of Practice on Coastal Protection (First Edition) (“CPCOP”) sets out technical requirements for the planning, design, construction, inspection and maintenance of coastal protection measures. Singapore’s CPCOP gives consultants, contractors and coastal asset owners an insight into what to be expected as Singapore prepares for rising sea levels.
The new requirements under the CPCOP will take effect in 2028, giving industry participants a lead-in period to prepare. This update summarises the key features of the CPCOP and highlights the practical implications for consultants and contractors.
What is the CPCOP?
The CPCOP is a statutory code of practice issued by PUB under Section 32 of the Sewerage, Drainage and Coastal Protection Act 1999 (“SDCPA”). The SDCPA itself is an expansion of its predecessor, the Sewerage and Drainage Act, following the passing of the Coastal Protection Bill in March 2026. Interestingly, unlike other codes of practice, the CPCOP is a mandatory code pertaining to coastal protection measures implemented in Singapore, and covers all stages of development of infrastructure in Singapore, from planning and design to the maintenance stage.
At its core, the CPCOP is designed to support a continuous line of coastal defence along Singapore’s Absolute Protection Boundary (“APB”). The APB is the boundary demarcating areas that must be protected from permanent and transient coastal flooding. The CPCOP also addresses development specific measures (“DSMs”), transiently floodable areas (coastal) (“TFA(C)”), coastal deployable barriers and related inspection and maintenance requirements.
The CPCOP is structured across five chapters covering the entire life cycle of a development: (I) Planning Requirements; (II) Design Requirements; (III) Inspection and Maintenance Requirements; (IV) Specific Requirements for Coastal Deployable Barriers; and (V) Submission Requirements.
Contractors and consultants can expect that the mandatory requirements under the CPCOP will continue to be relevant, regardless of the stage of the subject development.
Who does it affect?
The CPCOP creates obligations for a broad range of stakeholders involved in coastal development and protection works in Singapore, including:
- qualified persons (“QPs”), including architects and professional engineers (“PEs”) responsible for planning, design and submissions;
- developers and owners of coastal developments along the APB;
- PEs, including civil, mechanical and electrical engineers involved in design, certification and inspection;
- registered surveyors involved in plans and survey submissions;
- flood protection managers appointed by owners to support flood response, inspections and drills;
- owners and occupiers of TFA(C) areas; and
- adjoining plot owners where APB measures must connect across plot boundaries.
Consultants and contractors will not always be the primary duty holders under the CPCOP, but will definitely be expected to facilitate many of the obligations imposed by the CPCOP through design, engineering, construction, inspection and maintenance work. They will therefore need to understand the CPCOP at an operational level, not simply as a compliance document for owners. We summarise some key takeaways below.
Key points for consultants and contractors
1. Climate adaptability requirements
First, a key feature of the CPCOP is its climate adaptability requirement. For developments with more than 30 years of remaining lease upon receiving the second notification by the PUB, the QP, developer or owner must implement the APB measure / DSM through either the Incremental Build Approach or the Single Build Approach.
- Under the Incremental Build Approach, the initial build of the APB measure / DSM shall not be lower than the CPL computed for 0.7m RMSLR planning scenario. The CPCOP also requires provisions (e.g. foundation) for future builds to meet the CPL computed for the 2.15m RMSLR planning scenario.
- Under the Single Build Approach, the APB measure / DSM shall not be lower than the CPL computed for 2.15m RMSLR planning scenario.
For a development with 30 years or less of remaining lease upon receiving the second notification by the PUB, the CPCOP requires the QP, developer or owner to implement an APB measure or DSM that is not lower than the CPL computed for 0.7m RMSLR planning scenario.
This has significant consequences for consultants and contractors, who may need to take into consideration later variations, including foundations, interfaces, access, and staging, which may arise out of compliance with the CPCOP.
2. Coastal Protection Reserve (“CPR”)
Second, the CPCOP defines the CPR as the area “estimated to be required for any future modification / expansion of the APB measure and maintenance access of the APB measure”. For developments with more than 30 years of remaining lease, the PE must determine the CPR by reference to the additional footprint for future build APB measure and maintenance access space. For developments with 30 years or less of remaining lease, the CPR must include maintenance access space.
A minimum of 6m wide continuous space along the landward side of the APB measure must be maintained as access and working space for maintenance works within the CPR, unless otherwise approved. This will likely give rise to material planning issues, with potential implications for site layouts, usable land, landscaping, circulation routes and development yield.
Consultants should identify CPR requirements early and notify developers/contractors accordingly so as to adapt quickly. Contractors should also be alert to the need to protect these areas during construction and avoid temporary or permanent works that compromise future access.
3. 120-year design life
Third, APB measures must be designed with an indicative design life of 120 years, unless otherwise approved. A shorter 50-year design life is allowed only where the relevant part of the APB measure is not part of the substructure, is above the prevailing Highest Astronomical Tide including a minimum of 0.7m relative mean sea level rise (RMSLR), and is intended to be removed and not designed as part of the next incremental build.
This is a demanding requirement. It will affect material selection, durability design, corrosion protection, geotechnical assumptions, maintenance planning and cost. These will all have to be taken account at the tender stage.
The requirement also raises contractual questions, including the extent of consultants’ design responsibility, professional indemnity cover, limitation periods, liability caps and the wording of fitness for purpose obligations. Special attention will have to be paid to meticulous contract drafting (including amendments to particular conditions, if necessary), in order to capture these potential issues.
4. Extensive technical design obligations
Fourth, the CPCOP requires the PE (Civil) to address a broad range of technical issues, including structural and geotechnical analysis, settlement and lateral movement, global and local slope instability, and the like.
The CPCOP also includes specific limits. For example, the total residual settlement (after construction) over the design life of a sloped APB measure must not exceed 300mm, and the allowable differential settlement for APB measure over the design life must not exceed 1:500, subject to limited case by case flexibility.
These requirements will need to be reflected in design briefs, method statements, tender documents and technical submissions. The requirements are also expected to influence subcontractor selection (e.g. nominated subcontractors), testing regimes and design review processes.
5. Restrictions on post-completion modifications
Fifth, no modification to APB measures or coastal deployable barriers is permitted after completion without the prior submission of a PE-endorsed proposal and PUB / BCA approval, followed by a PE-endorsed modification report on completion. This restricts future flexibility for contractors seeking to carry out remedial or improvement works.
6. Cross-boundary interface obligations
Sixth, where APB measures adjoin across plot boundaries, the interface is critical. The CPCOP distinguishes between the Preceding APB measure and the Succeeding APB measure, depending on the order in which clearance certificates are obtained. The PE (Civil) for the preceding APB measure must submit a Development Interface Report to PUB, setting out the interface arrangements with the Succeeding APB measure. The Succeeding APB measure must be designed with a joint connection that does not cause failure or serviceability issues due to seepage across the joint, supported by seepage analysis.
For integrated designs, adjoining owners must agree to their respective responsibilities in writing and submit a joint declaration, which shall include provisions for future decoupling so that either owner can demolish, modify or replace its part without compromising the other owner’s coastal protection function. In this vein, consultants and contractors should plan for plot boundary interfaces from the outset, rather than treating them as a late-stage coordination issue.
7. Existing structures as APB measures
Seventh, where an existing structure or geological feature is proposed as an APB measure, the owner must appoint a PE (Civil) to demonstrate that it meets all requirements in the CPCOP. This includes reviewing as built drawings and design reports, conducting a full structural assessment, and identifying any enhancement or mitigation measures required for compliance.
Accordingly, it cannot be assumed that existing coastal structures will automatically satisfy the CPCOP. Consultants advising on asset portfolios should consider early screening reviews to identify likely gaps.
8. Rigorous ongoing inspection and maintenance regime
Eighth, the CPCOP imposes a structured inspection and maintenance regime. APB measures are subject to annual inspections carried out minimally once a year, periodic structural inspections (coastal) carried out every five years, and post-event inspections where required by PUB following significant events, such as extreme coastal events.
Periodic structural inspections and full structural investigations must be conducted by an appropriate PE (Civil).
This will require proper record keeping and maintenance budgeting. Contractors may also need specialist capability for underwater inspections, post event mobilisation and emergency repair works. All these additional considerations will invariably have cost impacts.
9. Annual Declaration
Ninth, owners and flood protection managers must declare certain matters to the PUB annually including: inspection and maintenance status; changes to the flood response plan; personnel changes, and evidence of annual flood response drills. This is a continuing compliance and reporting obligation.
10. Coastal Deployable Barriers
Coastal deployable barriers may be used only where the CPCOP conditions are satisfied and PUB approval is obtained. Permitted scenarios include operations related to maritime transport, logistics and services, jetties, loading and unloading, roll on/roll off operations, vessel launching and recovery, and ferry terminals and passenger piers. Prohibited scenarios include recreational access to beach / parks and maintaining sea view.
Deployable barriers must comply with relevant standards, and leak testing is required. For contractors and systems integrators, these deployable barriers involve training, maintenance, testing, monitoring and clear lines of responsibility.
A comparative lens: The Netherlands experience
Singapore is not the first country to develop a comprehensive, mandatory regime for coastal and flood defence. The Netherlands, roughly a third of which lies below sea level, offers a useful point of comparison. Its regulatory framework, anchored in the Omgevingswet (Environment and Planning Act) and given strategic direction through the Deltaprogramma (Delta Programme), similarly requires flood defence infrastructure to be designed for future climate scenarios through phased investment decisions, and mandates periodic reassessment of primary flood defences against updated safety norms every 12 years. These features are similar to the CPCOP’s Incremental Build Approach, 120-year design life requirement and periodic structural inspection obligations.
From a procurement perspective, three Dutch contracting models may be of particular interest as Singapore’s coastal protection programme matures: (a) performance-based contracts (prestatiecontracten), under which Rijkswaterstaat or regional water authorities (waterschappen) specify outcome requirements rather than prescriptive methods, incentivising innovation and lifecycle cost efficiency; (b) Design-Build-Finance-Maintain contracts, used for major works such as the Afsluitdijk reinforcement under the Flood Protection Programme (Hoogwaterbeschermingsprogramma), which transfer lifecycle risk to the private sector; and (c) alliance contracting (alliantiecontracten), under which client and contractors share risks and rewards collaboratively.
Next steps and Commentary
Contractors and consultants should use the lead-up period to the CPCOP coming into effect to make preparations for its effects, rather than simply monitor developments. Standard specifications, design assumptions and internal technical guidance should be reviewed against the CPCOP, with particular attention to design life, settlement criteria, hydraulic design, future buildability and other compliance requirements.
In view of the CPCOP, contractors and consultants should also assess whether current teams have the necessary capability for climate adaptability design, coastal hydraulics, geotechnical risk, scour protection, deployable barrier systems and underwater inspection. Where gaps exist, training or specialist partnerships may be needed. The CPCOP’s long design life, detailed performance requirements, restrictions on modifications and continuing inspection obligations may affect risk allocation, liability caps, insurance and exclusions, which have to be addressed through robust contract drafting.
Finally, project teams should build practical workflows for additional compliance requirements, particularly where multiple owners and consultants are involved. Owners and their advisers should also assess existing coastal assets early. These will go a long way in ensuring first-mover advantage in responding to the demands of the CPCOP.
The authors thank practice trainee, Jolene Tan, for her assistance in preparing this article.
