The island is a 20-minute boat trip from Singapore's most popular tourist spot, Sentosa Resort Island. The source said the Singapore government would claim space on the island for the project before landscaping and planting and investing in infrastructure and equipment.

There is, though, no budget for the project as yet or a schedule for its opening.

The source said the project would be regionally unique and that work was under way on two private-sector casinos approved by the government on Sentosa and in the Marina area.

"The extreme-sport project is designed to be Singapore's answer to Hong Kong's Disneyland," the source said, and is expected to attract more tourists, particularly from Southeast Asian countries, where interest in adventure sports is growing.

Singapore has been acclaimed for years for its main shopping street Orchard Road and the recreation theme park on Sentosa and now boasts a venue for international events and exhibitions in the recently opened Esplanade Dome.

Another source at SNU said feasibility studies for the extreme-sport island were nearing completion.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation