Keppel Island is a small private island located in the precinct of

HarbourFront Harbourfront may refer to: * Harbourfront (Toronto), a neighbourhood in Toronto ** 509 Harbourfront, Toronto streetcar route **Harbourfront Centre, cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto * HarbourFront (Singapore), waterfront site in Si ...

in Bukit Merah,

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. The island is largely flat, situated in northern part of Keppel Bay, between Singapore's main island and the island of

Sentosa Sentosa Island, known mononymously as Sentosa, and formerly ''Pulau Belakang Mati'', is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the K ...

. Keppel Island is connected to Singapore's main island by the 250 m long cable stayed

Keppel Bay Bridge The Keppel Bay Bridge (Chinese: 吉宝湾桥, ms, Jambatan Teluk Keppel) is the longest cable-stayed bridge in Singapore along Keppel Bay Vista, spanning 250 metres across the strait linking the private Keppel Island to mainland. The bridge was of ...

, which opened in 2008. Keppel Bay Bridge also carries the lines for electricity, water, and other services to the island.

History

The island became prosperous in mid-19th century thanks to the development of the

Keppel Harbour Keppel Harbour (; ms, Pelabuhan Keppel), also called the Keppel Channel and formerly New Harbour, is a stretch of water in Singapore between the mainland and the southern islands of Pulau Brani and Sentosa (formerly Pulau Blakang Mati). Its natur ...

. Keppel Island was used for shipbuilding and ship repair operations by

Keppel Shipyard Keppel Corporation (also known as Keppel Corp) is a Singaporean conglomerate headquartered in Keppel Bay Tower, HarbourFront. The company consists of several affiliated businesses that specialises in offshore & marine, property, infrastructure ...

until 2000. The island was previously known as Pulau Hantu, which means "Ghost Island" in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

. In 1983, the company that owned the island changed the name to Keppel Island. As the previous name was deemed to be disagreeable for some and Pulau Hantu being the name of another island in Singapore, the government allowed the change. The island was part of a waterfront luxury development effort in 2008, and it was thereafter connected to the mainland via the construction of the Keppel Bay Bridge. Today, Keppel Island houses high-end restaurants and a marina for yachts.

References

Islands of Singapore Private islands of Asia {{Singapore-geo-stub