Cities driving regional growth

Stamford Raffles, then the Governor-General overseeing Singapore, declared the city a free and open port in 1823. Singapore had experienced rapid growth since Raffles’s first development plan for the city was laid out in 1819. And, while economic advancement has had its ups and downs over the past two centuries, the bold free-port declaration created a foundation for the vibrant, developed, global city-state we see today.