Singapore
Sand Origin
Palawan beach, Sentosa Island
Random Sand Fact
In Singapore, mountains of sand are guarded behind double fences.
The country is small and can only grow in one direction: out into the sea. So it builds new land from sand, and today Singapore is around a quarter larger than it was sixty years ago. The airport, ports and entire districts stand where there used to be water.
The sand is bought from other countries. When one supplier suddenly stopped selling, construction was saved by the state’s own sand reserve, which has been compared to the oil reserves other countries keep for a crisis.
Even the beaches where tourists sunbathe on the resort island of Sentosa are made of sand shipped in from elsewhere.
