The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has converted its existing Cadastre survey (a survey of boundaries of land parcels) system to the Co-ordinated Cadastre system on a nation-wide scale. The use of Co-ordinated Cadastre system means that land surveys can be carried out faster, reducing the time taken to carry out a land survey by almost 40 per cent, from about five to three days. The system will benefit homeowners as the shorter time taken in land surveys would mean they can register their properties earlier.

The key features of the Co-ordinated Cadastre system are the application of Global Positioning System (GPS) in land surveys and the efficient method of gathering, processing and storing land survey data. The Co-ordinated Cadastre system will also benefit surveyors, the construction industry and government agencies that require land survey data. The new system establishes a common framework that allows information to be efficiently shared among government agencies and integrated seamlessly with other land information systems.

The conversion work began as early as in 1995. Recognising that GPS was a tool of the future, SLA embarked on the establishment of a network of survey control points known as Integrated Survey Network (ISN). The ISN network provides the framework for a GPS-based cadastral survey system for Singapore as the position of the ISN network is derived from the GPS signals emitted from satellites.

The ISN control points were established at 300m intervals along all major roads in Singapore. Approximately 4000 control points or ISN control markers have been established. In 1998, the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act was amended to cater for the creation of a Co-ordinated Cadastre. The legislation was revised to enforce future surveys to be based on the ISN.

The Co-ordinated Cadastre system also involves the conversion of survey values (survey information data) of all existing boundary points (for approximately 136,000 land parcels in Singapore) to the new network. The conversion exercise was completed in end July and was gazetted yesterday, 2 August 2004. The project costs an estimated $8.67 million.

Prior to the conversion to the Co-ordinated Cadastre system, surveys of land parcels were conducted using the "bearing and distance" method of defining the boundaries. This was both time-consuming and tedious. The old system also did not take full advantage of the new improvements in measurement science and IT in recent years. (Please see Annex for a brief history of survey methodology in Singapore).

To facilitate the conversion, SLA conducted training and dialogue sessions for all users of the Co-ordinated Cadastre last year. The users included SLA's survey services officers as well as registered surveyors. SLA has also put in place a supporting administrative, IT and technical base to monitor and fine-tune the system.

SLA will continue to work closely with the survey industry to further improve on new technology and look into ways of utilising the infrastructure for other surveys and applications.

Issued by:
Singapore Land Authority
3 August 2004