The Float @ Marina Bay, a popular venue for both national and community events such as River Hongbao, Marina Bay Singapore Countdown and National Day Parade, will be redeveloped in the next few years. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had announced in 2017 that The Float @ Marina Bay will be redeveloped into a permanent space and renamed NS Square when works are completed.

The Float @ Marina Bay was built as a temporary stage in 2007 and there are several limitations to the existing structures, which are not designed for long-term use. Event organisers often face difficulties staging events at the venue as only basic facilities are provided. Access towards the waterfront has also been restricted during event days, which affects public enjoyment of the Bay.

In redeveloping the platform and the seating gallery, the intent is to transform the venue into a vibrant events and entertainment space where the public can enjoy arts, culture, and sports activities at the waterfront all year round. The redevelopment will also improve pedestrian connectivity and provide a continuous loop around Marina Bay. To showcase Singapore's NS story, the new NS Square will include a gallery where visitors can experience and witness the contributions of generations of National Servicemen, as well as the resolve of all Singaporeans in keeping Singapore safe and secure.

The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will launch a call for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the redevelopment of the Float @ Marina Bay into NS Square, in the second quarter of 2019. DSTA will also launch a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the design and development of the gallery.

Call for EOI for Development of NS Square

Parties with experience in projects of similar nature and scale are welcome to participate in the EOI for the development of NS Square at Raffles Avenue, Marina Bay. Interested tenderers will need to form multi-disciplinary consultant teams to provide full professional consultancy services comprising architectural, civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, quantity surveying, security design, seating gallery design and exhibition gallery design for the redevelopment works, and to submit their design proposals for the NS Square. Please refer to the Annex for more details of the design consultancy tender.

Call for Ideas for NS Square

Members of the public are also invited to share their ideas and suggestions for facilities and possible activities that they envision taking place within NS Square. They can provide their feedback at https://ura.sg/artsculturefeedback until 24 May 2019, or at the NS Square webpage at https://www.nssquare.sg until 30 June 2019. They can also provide their ideas and suggestions on the exhibits that they would like to see at the NS-themed gallery.  

Members of the public will have opportunities to view the submitted design of the selected team for the new NS Square development at a public exhibition in 2020. More details on the public exhibition will be shared closer to the date.

Annex

Details of Design Consultancy Tender for Development of NS Square

Interested parties are invited to participate in Stage 1 of a two-stage Design Consultancy Tender.

In Stage 1, which is the call for EOI, teams will submit their track records, team compositions and a statement of design intent indicating the design philosophy, approach, and strategy towards the new development on the site. In Stage 2, shortlisted teams will be required to translate their preliminary ideas into a concept design proposal that includes the detailed site layout and the overall architecture scheme.

At the end of the Design Consultancy tender, one team will be appointed as the project consultant to develop and implement the design for the development of NS Square.

The call for EOI is expected to be launched on GeBIZ (www.gebiz.gov.sg) in the second quarter of 2019. More details will be available on GeBIZ when the tender is launched.