When a sinkhole recently opened on a road in Singapore, one of the world’s most advanced cities, it jolted both locals and urban planners globally. Though there were no injuries, the event highlighted the silent vulnerabilities lurking beneath modern urban infrastructure.
Far from being an isolated anomaly, this sinkhole symbolises a broader issue: the fragility of cities under pressure from aging infrastructure, rapid development, and climate stress. To protect growing urban populations, cities must shift from reactive maintenance to proactive planning powered by smart technology and resilient infrastructure.
Understanding the root causes: A systems failure
Sinkholes typically form due to soil erosion, water leaks, aging pipes, or unstable ground, often invisible to the naked eye. But they also reveal flaws in how cities manage their infrastructure.
Many urban centres suffer from overdevelopment, poor data visibility, and delayed maintenance. As underground systems age, they become more prone to collapse, especially when stretched beyond their original capacity. In high-density environments, even small failures can cause major disruptions.
Our cities are getting denser, older, and more complex. Yet many of the systems running beneath them were built decades ago, with little visibility into their current state.
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These hidden vulnerabilities exist in nearly every modern city, from Singapore to London to Jakarta. And in Southeast Asia, the problem is compounded by the rapid pace of development.
In Bangkok last December, a scaffolding collapse killed several workers. In Malaysia and Vietnam, similar accidents have exposed lax oversight, poor training, and rushed timelines. These aren’t isolated tragedies. They point to systemic problems.
Tight budgets, rotating workforces, and inconsistent regulation are a dangerous mix. When safety takes a back seat, everyone loses.
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Smart infrastructure: From Data to prevention
The good news is that a lot of this is preventable. Cities and construction companies already have access to tools that can spot problems before they become crises. Governments across Southeast Asia are introducing stricter regulations, including mandatory safety inspections and penalties for non-compliance. However, enforcement alone is not enough. Companies must also adopt proactive measures to prevent accidents.
Smart infrastructure using real-time sensors, predictive analytics, and integrated data can detect problems early, often before they surface. For example, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors embedded in roads and pipes monitor stress, pressure, and moisture levels, triggering alerts when conditions deviate from the norm.
Cities that implement these systems report up to 40% fewer infrastructure failures, according to McKinsey. In Seoul, more than 10,000 km of underground utilities are monitored continuously, allowing preemptive maintenance and reducing emergency incidents.
Predictive analytics takes this further. Artifiical intelligence (AI) models can forecast failures by analysing patterns in historical and real-time data. Singapore’s Land Transport Authority uses machine learning to schedule tunnel inspections, cutting downtime and increasing safety.
Digital twins, virtual replicas of urban systems, are also transforming infrastructure management. Cities like Helsinki use them to simulate stress scenarios and optimise maintenance, reducing project delays and overruns. With adoption growing rapidly, digital twins are becoming key tools in building underground resilience.
In construction, new tools like 360-degree visual documentation are changing the game. Helmet mounted cameras let workers capture detailed site conditions in real time. These images can be mapped and analysed to track progress, flag risks, and avoid rework. Combined with real time alerts and predictive data, these systems can reduce both accidents and costly delays.
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Bridging Policy, Technology, and Community
Technology alone won’t solve the problem. Smart infrastructure needs smart governance.
Regulations must incentivise long-term planning over short-term fixes. Maintenance backlogs must be addressed transparently. And public-private partnerships can bring in innovation and funding.
Equally important is public trust. Citizens deserve transparency on infrastructure health, risks, and spending priorities. When people are informed, they support change and hold decision-makers accountable.
Singapore: A Model and a Warning
Singapore has long been considered a global smart city leader. This makes the sinkhole both surprising and instructive. It exposes the blind spots that can exist even in cities at the cutting edge of technology and planning.
But it also presents an opportunity. By turning this incident into a catalyst, Singapore can pioneer a new standard in subterranean safety, enhancing monitoring systems, improving data sharing, and modeling best practices for cities worldwide.
Construction players must take a preventative approach, leveraging data-driven strategies and innovative tools to embed safety into every project phase. Smarter tools, such as 360° visual documentation, are transforming the way construction projects are managed.
Introducing 360° reality capture technology allows workers to capture images while walking through the site with cameras on their helmets. These images are then automatically mapped onto a 2D plan, providing an interactive and detailed visual record of the site’s progress so that stakeholders can access up-to-date site visuals without the need for complicated manual processes. This improves safety monitoring, rapid response to safety threats, and enacting preventative measures. Additionally, it enhances progress tracking and speeds up decision-making.
To reduce errors, detailed behind-the-wall views, with visual documentation in every phase of the project, enable construction teams to identify issues early by comparing visuals over time. This mitigates the need for costly rework, ensuring quality standards, and reducing unexpected costs.
Integration of innovations like these with existing systems also improves communication and task management by allowing project managers to pin tickets to specific areas in 360° images, streamlining task and progress tracking, centralising communication, and facilitating quicker issue resolution.
A non-negotiable checklist
These data-driven strategies can empower companies to continuously monitor safety performance and track compliance:
- Real-time monitoring: Utilising wearable devices and on-site sensors, companies can monitor worker movements and capture real-time 360° images to monitor site conditions at any moment. These technologies alert managers to hazardous situations, enabling prevention of accidents and spurring immediate corrective action.
- Predictive analytics: Analysing historical data on site conditions and safety incidents helps identify potential risks before they escalate. This approach allows teams to pre-emptively address issues and allocate resources effectively.
- Integrated safety management systems: Comprehensive systems that track KPIs, compliance, incidents, and corrective actions streamline communication and ensure accountability across all stakeholders. These systems allow companies to pinpoint problem areas, assess the effectiveness of safety measures, and ensure that safety protocols are being followed throughout the project.
- Worker training and certification: A well-trained workforce is critical to reducing accidents. Certification programs tailored to Southeast Asia’s diverse labour force can enhance skill levels and ensure consistent adherence to safety protocols.
The rise of mega-projects in Southeast Asia offers a transformative opportunity for economic and social progress, but this can only be realised if safety becomes a foundational priority. Governments, developers, and contractors must collaborate to establish robust frameworks that protect workers and uphold project integrity. By embracing a safety-first approach, Southeast Asia can achieve growth that is not only rapid but also resilient and equitable.
Vitaly Berezka is the regional spokesperson for Apac at PlanRadar
