Pualu Semakau is known for two things mainly, one of them is its landfill, which was made thanks to reclamation of the land by which the Pulau Semakau and Pulau Seking Islands were brought together. The island is also a very well known place for its various sports activities.
Pulau Semakau long time ago was a fishing island, its locals lived mainly out of fishing and selling fishes. Located not far from Singapore main inland’s southern part, the landfill of Pulau Semakau is the one and only landfill of Singapore with a capacity of 63 million m3 that is a huge quantity. The landfills work is continuously checked on and the operators have succeeded in creating it without causing harm to the environment both over and under the sea. The landfill will last till 2045 according to the current estimations. Before the building of the landfill, the locals of the island were removed to newly build apartment houses. The landfill incinerates all the waste of the city in an environmentally conscious way. In order to protect nature various programs work on the island especially regarding the protection of underwater world as its them that would be harmed more in case of any problem. These programs include the Coral Nursery, the Intertidal Sponge Survey system and the Sea grass Nursery. Being in operation since 1999, the landfill did not cause any harm in the nature, which is a huge achievement.
Thanks to all the effort of the governmental offices and all the hard work considering the islands, visitor friendly facilities the Pulau Semakau island has first officially opened its gate for visitors offering several possibilities of sports and recreational activities. There are several learning programs too for the children especially to learn more about how to protect the nature. The courses of Starfish Learning Journey are quite popular. From 2010, the National Environmental Agency manages the guided walking tours on the island. There are several environmental friendly associations, which provide tours to the island, which is by far the best way to visit it, for example the Raffles Museum, to which the National Environmental Agency belongs. Of course, there are several other associations having their guided tours on the island that is also one favourite spot of bird watchers too and you can marvel at the mangrove swamps too, which look beautiful. Other associations as the Sport Fishing Association, the Nature Society or the Astronomical Society of Singapore all have their pre-organized journeys here.
The Pulau Semakau Island can only be reached from the water, by a boat of a ferry coming out of Pasir Panjang Ferry Terminal or from the West Coast Pier. The journey is about 20-30 minutes long and gives you chance to enjoy the great refreshing boat ride. The Pulau Semakau Island has not many eating facilities so get prepared for your trip with bringing some food or snacks and some drinks with yourself. There is no admission fee but you will need to pay your boat ride or guided tour, which includes the boat ride too.