SINGAPORE may consider using nuclear power and could even look into building an underground plant because of its limited space, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday.

'I would not rule it out for the long term,' Mr Lee told foreign correspondents, stressing the difficulties posed by the scale and output of a nuclear plant and the relatively small size of the domestic energy market.

Mr Lee said the bigger problem was where to locate a plant in the densely populated country.

'But technology will change ... there might be other possibilities such as putting it underground,' he said.

'We have to look ahead and be aware of the possibilities,' he said, citing global warming and high energy prices as factors in any decision.

Neighbouring Malaysia, an oil producer, has already declared plans to explore nuclear energy as supplies of fossil fuels run out. Indonesia has said it plans to build a nuclear plant. -- AFP