Thursday, October 22, 2009

Marina Bay

Marina Bay is a bay near Central Area in the southern part of Singapore, and lies to the east of the Downtown Core. An artificial bay, it was formed when land reclamation created the Marina Centre and Marina South areas, which form a body of sheltered waters of what was once open sea. In the reclamation process, Telok Ayer Basin was removed from the map, while the Singapore River's mouth now flows into the bay instead of directly into the sea. A barrage was completed in 2008 to make Marina Bay a reservoir for drinking water.

In contemporary local common usage, however, the term Marina Bay has largely been attached to the developments in the vicinity of Marina Mall in the Marina South reclaimed area, particularly to the eateries found there. Although technically erroneous, this association may have been stemmed from the association of the venue's limited accessibility to the Marina Bay MRT Station, which has served as the main means of public transport to Marina South.

It was announced in 2007 that Marina Bay will play host to a Formula One Race. The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix took place on September 28 2008 on a street circuit through Marina Bay. It was the first ever Formula One Grand Prix to be staged at night, with the track fully floodlit.

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