In the northern part of the city, longstanding nature attractions – a zoo, a night safari and river safari – have long been big draws for foreign and local visitors.
Singapore’s plans to create a vast ecotourism zone to bring in more visitors has environmentalists concerned that the development will damage natural habitats and are already to blame for a series of animal deaths.
In the northern part of the city, longstanding nature attractions – a zoo, a night safari and river safari – have long been big draws for foreign and local visitors.
But the jungle in the northern area of the city, home to patches of rainforest and an array of wildlife, is currently being cleared to make way for a bird park, a rainforest park and a 400-room resort. This green tourism hub hopes to attract millions of visitors a year.
But environmentalists believe that rather than promote biodiversity, it will destroy forest habitats. They also say insufficient safeguards were put in place before work began - leading to animals being killed on roads, AFP reported.
“I think you are getting your priorities wrong if you are replacing natural heritage with captive breeding,” Subaraj Rajathurai, a veteran wildlife consultant, told AFP.
With the new development, it appears that “making money was more of a priority than finding the balance and preserving biodiversity”, he added.
But Mandai Park Holdings, which is overseeing the project through its development arm, insists work is being carried out sensitively and will bring improvements.
The district, which sits next to a protected nature reserve and has been earmarked for development for years, is mostly abandoned villages and farmland that have been swallowed by the surrounding jungle.
Work is already well under way in an area that is home to animals including flying lemurs and deer, with construction cranes looming over hillsides stripped bare of jungle.
Subaraj blamed the deaths on a lack of protective measures, pointing in particular to a failure to put up temporary barriers around the road quickly enough.
The new bird park - which will replace an existing one elsewhere in Singapore - will feature nine aviaries, while the rainforest park will have walkways among treetop canopies. The hotel is being developed by Singapore-based resort chain Banyan Tree.
Work started in 2017 and the 126-hectare development is due to be completed by 2023.
Green groups have raised concerns that besides the roadkill deaths, noise and light pollution from the large resort could affect the surrounding area, although the developer insists it will be designed carefully to limit any impact.