Bridge connecting the main island with Ubin and Tekong planned

Article first appeared in Malay at Cyberita

Imagine being able to drive in Pulau Ubin while enjoying nature, and no longer having to take a boat and the diesel fumes that come with it.

Or enjoy the beauty of the sunset on a bridge after dining at Changi Village, and then continue the drive on the same bridge to return home on the main island.

Such an experience will one day be possible when the government's plan to build a road network between main island and Pulau Ubin is implemented, beyond 2030.

Plans to develop Pulau Ubin, however, received different reactions from experts and nature lovers.

There are those who want the island - which is popular among nature enthusiasts and those who love cycling and fishing – to be left as it is now.

While others are excited about the prospect of a possible unique waterfront housing development.

The road network plan was first made public in the Land Use Plan report released recently.

In the published map, the route is shown to start from Changi to Pulau Tekong, then Pulau Ubin and back to the main island near Lorong Halus

However, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of National Development (MND), the road network between the main island to Pulau Ubin, which will also be connected to Pulau Tekong, is a long term plan.

It is to provide continuity in the event that the two islands were developed later, the spokesman added.

In the Land Use Plan, Pulau Tekong will be categorised as an integrated military training zone.

However, no further information on the island was presented, which currently has a number of kampung houses and natural areas which are popular among anglers and those who love cycling.

According to a researcher at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of National University of Singapore (NUS) specialising in transportation, Associate Professor Lee Der Horng, the link is justified since the total population is expected to increase.

Asked in what form would the link be expected, he said "an above water bridge is more appropriate than an underwater tunnel as it is cheaper and faster to build."

A bridge would not block small vessels from passing through the Straits of Johor between Singapore and the two islands in the northeast of the country, he added.

Large vessels are expected to no longer sail through the straits as Sembawang shipyard operations will be stopped and a water coastal area has already been planned for the site.

The area is expected to offer a wide range of business activities and will form part of the North Coast Innovation Corridor, planned between Woodlands and Punggol.

But Associate Professor Lee feel that it is better to let Pulau Ubin be left as it is "so that Singaporeans can go there to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life".

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PropNex, Mr Ismail Gafoor, said while he agree that the plan is still far in the future, Pulau Ubin has the potential to be a "dream waterfront residential address, like Sentosa".

"Waterfront towns with unblocked coastal water view, not crowded and windy are often able to command premium prices of 20 per cent higher.

"Housing on the island is able to attract the same premium," he said.

Configuring Cisco for SingNet Bizlink

Situation

You switched to SingNet Bizlink static IP plan and were given a Cisco 877. You have your own router and/or firewall in your current setup and all you need is an ADSL modem to replace your current CPE. This way, you can keep everything else in place and simply do an IP change.

Problem

You have searched for configuration samples for the Cisco and tried in vain to get it to work as a transparent bridge but failed. You need to use the Cisco because that is the only device you have that can connect you to the ADSL service.

Resolution

Go the routing way by creating another routing subnet between the Cisco and your existing router.

So the topology will look like this



Configurations

1. Set Cisco ATM interface as required with your public WAN IP eg 1.1.1.0/30

interface ATM0
no ip address
no atm ilmi-keepalive
dsl operating-mode auto
!
interface ATM0.1 point-to-point
ip address 1.1.1.2 255.255.255.252
ip nat outside
pvc 8/35
encapsulation aal5snap
!

2. Set the VLAN interface with a small subnet private ip that is not part of your own private IP eg 10.255.255.252/30

interface VLAN1
ip address 10.255.255.253 255.255.255.252
ip nat inside

3. Set your own router WAN interface within the same range as the Cisco VLAN interface, in this case 10.255.255.254 255.255.255.252

4. Set your own router LAN interface with the public LAN IP assigned by SingTel eg 2.2.2.0/28

5. Add a route on the Cisco for all traffic to point to SingTel side and another route to your public LAN network behind your own router/firewall.

ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 1.1.1.1
ip route 2.2.2.0 255.255.255.240 10.255.255.254

6. Do a static NAT for your own router/firewall using the public WAN IP. This way traffic from the Internet will see the public WAN IP as your current router/firewall, as if the Cisco does no exist.

ip nat inside source static 10.255.255.254 1.1.1.2

Conclusions

Advantages
- You keep everything as it is and only need to change IP address.
- As good as configuring the Cisco as a bridge.

Disadvantages
- You MAY run into IP routing problem if you have private networks using the same range as the private IP assigned to the VLAN1 interface. However, by using the smallest network you can, this is quite unlikely.
- You have additional route when you do a traceroute from the inside.