Singapore has a habit of putting critical infrastructure underground. Oil is stored beneath the ground, cooling systems run below the city, and now even a major electricity substation sits underground.
Beneath a 34 story commercial tower near Labrador Park is a 230 kilovolt (kV) electricity substation, built directly underneath Labrador Tower.
According to Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA), it is the first integrated development of its kind in Southeast Asia, placing a large scale electrical facility underground while using the space above for a commercial building.
Singapore has plenty of infrastructure to build, but not much land to put it on.
Why Put a Power Substation Underground?
Electricity substations are normally built above ground. They receive electricity at high voltage, help manage its flow through the grid, and transform it to suitable levels for distribution.
But Singapore has limited land, and the city-state has increasingly looked underground for infrastructure that would otherwise occupy valuable surface space.
The Labrador project was first discussed as early as 2014, when SP PowerGrid and Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority explored ways to optimise the site. The existing substation needed to be renewed, creating an opportunity to move the replacement underground.
The underground substation occupies about three hectares, roughly the size of four football fields. By putting it below ground, SP Group could free the land above for other uses, including the 34 story Labrador Tower.
Singapore found a way to fit both the electricity infrastructure and the commercial development into the same site.
There Is a Lot of Equipment Down There
The facility contains five gas insulated transformers, with the substation designed to handle electricity at 230 kV. At full capacity, a 230 kV substation can supply electricity to as many as eight towns, each roughly the size of Toa Payoh, according to SP Group.
Getting the equipment underground was an engineering challenge of its own.
One transformer weighed about 180 tonnes, equivalent to roughly 90 cars. Engineers had to move it into a custom built underground space, with the operation requiring careful planning and multiple practice sessions.
There was also the question of cooling the massive electrical equipment, something an above ground substation has far less trouble with
Normally, outdoor substations can rely partly on natural ventilation. At Labrador, engineers installed special water cooling systems because the gas insulated equipment can generate significant heat.
The underground facility also had to be designed around risks such as flooding and fire, while still allowing technicians to access and maintain the equipment.
What Is Above It?
Completed in 2024, Labrador Tower rises 34 story above the underground infrastructure.
The commercial building itself was designed to be highly energy efficient. SP Group says it achieved Singapore’s Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy certification and was validated to use approximately 40% less energy than buildings meeting prevailing code requirements.
The tower contains office and retail space, while SP Group also integrates various energy technologies into the building, including smart energy management, solar panels, sustainable cooling and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Below it, meanwhile, the substation forms part of Singapore’s electricity network serving areas including Labrador, West Coast, Pasir Panjang and Keppel, as well as surrounding parts of southern Singapore. The underground substation was energised in 2024.
A Different Way to Build a City
Singapore’s Labrador project is a good example of how the city-state is making use of the space beneath its streets and buildings.
Critical infrastructure that would normally take up valuable land above ground can be moved underground, leaving the surface free for other purposes.
Beneath a 34 story tower, an entire electricity substation supplies power to the surrounding area, largely out of sight of the people above.
