Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has successfully travelled thousands of miles just to stand next to a very long, very expensive hole in the ground.

The Pinglu Canal, a $13.7 billion watery trench, promises to deliver mountains of cheap electric vehicles and pungent durians directly into the gaping maws of Singaporeans with zero self-control.

Local experts confirm that shortening the shipping route by 740km is essential for ensuring that useless plastic trinkets from Taobao reach Jurong Port before the buyer even realizes they were drunk-shopping.

SM Lee, who is definitely not bored in his new role, spent hours staring intensely at the muddy water to ensure the current was sufficiently pro-business.

“This canal is a game-changer,” said one official, while wiping sweat from his brow.

“Now we can import economic integration at a pace that would make a regular civil servant collapse from overwork.”

Government sources claim the ditch is the most exciting development since the flushing toilet.