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For many, the name "Singapore" will bring to mind the sunny island set in the sea nestled below Malaysia and above the equator.

However, for some in Medan, "Singapore" instead refers to a residential estate located 20 minutes' drive away from the capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra Province's city centre.

Replicas of iconic structures

This curious place is called the Singapore of Medan, and for good reason — it contains some familiar names and structures found on real Singapore.

It appears that the area has been built with features to mimic the island-state, including its own Merlion Park with a Merlion statue.

The resemblance is uncanny.

What could possibly be a replica of the fat bird statue by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, which is located at Raffles Place, can also be found there.

Along with a red-coloured version of Suntec City's Fountain of Wealth.

And of course, Singapore wouldn't be Singapore without Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantries, something which the Indonesian developers did not fail to include.

The gantries in the Singapore of Medan are likely not operational.

Same street names

According to the property developer's website, the official name of this 211-hectare township is CitraLand Gama City.

The place is an integrated development comprising residential areas and other facilities and amenities such as a mall, school, university, hospital, club house and waterpark.

The website states:

"Through the concept of 'The Singapore of Medan', the masterplan is designed to have great balance between clean, green, and modern living."

Some streets in the town are also named after actual streets in Singapore.

The town also has Fullerton and Dempsey Hill residential clusters, among others.

According to the website, a two-storey three-bedroom house in the Dempsey Hill cluster, with a building area of 108 sqm, costs Rp 2.8 billion (S$266,546).

Recreating the "luxury" of Singapore?

Though it is uncertain why CitraLand Gama City chose Singapore as its inspiration, one Facebook page posited that presenting its "luxury" would attract property buyers.

Duplicating or recreating foreign architecture isn't exactly a novel concept.

Tianducheng, a suburb in Hangzhou, China, replicates the capital of France. It even has its own Eiffel Tower.

Top photo via Kedan Medan / YouTube & Heri Prutanto / YouTube