Prior to 1965 mapping of the island of Singapore was carried out by British and Malay agencies, but after independence responsibility passed to local organizations. Topographic and aerial photographic surveys are carried out by the Mapping Unit (SMU), part of the Ministry of Defence, which acts as the island’s national mapping agency. The Survey Department (SSD), part of the Ministry of Law, is the civilian mapping and charting authority. It is responsible for geodetic triangulation, levelling and cadastral surveying and mapping.
The basic scale topographic survey of Singapore is at 1:5,000, and a series of 114 line maps gives complete coverage. These are derived from aerial photographic coverage, and are updated on a three-yearly cycle. A 1:10,000 scale series (SMU1168) is a two-color map road map indicating names of streets and buildings, complete in 24 sheets. The four-color 5 m contoured 1:10,000 scale (SMU10) series is complete in 30 sheets. Cadastral surveys of Singapore at a scale of 1:1,000 are carried out by the private sector, coordinated by SSD.
Derived smaller scale mapping includes 1:25,000 coverage, published as a four-sheet road map and revised to 1997, or as orthophoto maps revised to 1995, and various single-sheet 1:50,000 scale maps on the Cassini Soldner Rectangular projection, Everest ellipsoid. (SMU075) is a seven-color topographic map, last revised in 1993; (SMU1200) is an outline version of this map.
Soviet military topographic mapping of Singapore is available at the following scales: 1:1,000,000 (1 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1960); 1:500,000 (1 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1961); 1:200,000 (4 sheets, complete coverage, published in 1983) and a city (1:25,000) topographic map of Singapore published in 1982. These products are available in print, digital raster and digital vector GIS formats from East View Geospatial.
The Hydrographic Department in the Maritime and Port Authority was established in 1965 and is responsible for hydrographic survey of Singapore waters and the Strait of Malacca, and the publication of a range of 30 nautical charts.
The Geological Unit of the Public Works Department compiled 1:25,000 scale full color geological coverage of Singapore in the 1970s, with assistance from the UN and from New Zealand. This series was published with accompanying reports. Hydrogeological mapping of the island was compiled by the German Bundesanstalt fϋr Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BfGR) and published with explanations in Geologisches Jahrbuch.
The 1:63,360 scale soil map of the island published by the New Zealand Soil Bureau (NZSB) remains the best available soil coverage of Singapore.
The Singapore street directory digital data comprises 12 digital locality maps at 1:50,000 scale, and 253 sectional digital maps at a number of larger scales, as well as a grid-based street directory index and map.
Conventionally published streetfinders are issued by a number of European commercial publishers, for example Berndtson and Berndtson (B&B), Freytag-Berndt (FB) Macmillan and Lascelles. ERA Maptech International, Dublin, publishes an image map of Singapore. Two locally based publishers also maintain active ranges of commercial mapping. APA Publications issues tourist guides and maps, often in conjunction with German map and guide publishers Nelles Verlag. Periplus Editions produces probably the most comprehensive range of town and tourist mapping for countries in the South East Asian region.
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