The Importance of Critical Infrastructure Protection in Singapore
Described as one of the ‘Four Asian Tigers’, Singapore is a world leading business centre and a major destination for foreign investment. With one of the world’s busiest ports, it has attracted over 3,000 multinational corporations from the United States, Japan and Europe; all investing in the island nation.
As a result of substantial investment within the Singaporean infrastructure sector, the Singaporean Government has passed the Infrastructure Protection Act 2017. This law dictates that buildings classed as ‘critical national infrastructure’ are now required to be made more secure with measures being put in place to protect a building’s perimeter, access points and technology infrastructure.
ATG Access has a rich history with Singapore having exported perimeter security equipment to the Singaporean market for nearly ten years. With a well-established manufacturing facility in-country, the company has been well placed to follow key developments and changes to infrastructure law and areas of investment.
The road itself had a few installation challenges for the security designer to consider with an underground canal running through the famous shopping street. This meant that there was limited installation depth for any security measures. ATG’s shallow mount technology was the perfect solution for this challenge, with a foundation requirement of just 176 mm. The security designer also required areas with removable security bollards so that parts of the busy shopping street could allow vehicles to pass through the perimeter. Fortunately, ATG Access is the only high-security manufacturer to have an impact test certified, removable bollard with a shallow foundation, ideal for this situation.
Orchard Road wasn’t the only area undergoing security improvements. Following the migration of a FTSE 100 company to the Mapletree Business City in Singapore during 2016, the building’s facility manager felt an enhanced security scheme was required after the release of the new Infrastructure Protection Act. The decision was taken to procure and install impact tested bollards to the office block’s perimeter. This will help to attract more FTSE 100 companies as more and more multi-nationals are concerned about the threat to critical national infrastructure.
As a result of increased foreign investment from the United States within Singapore, the exclusive American Club was also looking to upgrade its security. Located a stone’s throw from Orchard Road, they opted for a shallow foundation, perimeter security measures. The main benefit of ATG Access’s shallow mount technology being the limited disruption required to install. Our shallow mount products can be installed over a weekend to be completely up and running by opening hours on a Monday morning. Alternatively, if operational hours extend to weekends, products can be installed within stages through the night.
Jurong Island; the artificial isle located to the southwest of the mainland Singapore is a hub for petrochemical companies, who also saw the need to act on the new law. The area was predominately secured using security fence, which required additional security measures and so lines of reinforcing security bollards were installed.
Singapore’s data centres were also given a security overhaul. With so much attention being paid to cybersecurity measures and backup centres, Singapore’s new policy has been leading the way and ensuring that the physical perimeter of these data hubs is also being secured.
The Singaporean Government looks to the UK to drive security standards and follows a similar security strategy. The country will continue to invest in protecting their national infrastructure and also crowded spaces throughout key, urban areas.