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The mission of MOT is to develop Singapore's
land, sea and air transport sectors so as to
enhance our economic competitiveness and quality
of life in a knowledge-based economy. A total
budget of $2,087 million has been allocated to
MOT to achieve this mission.
MOT aims to provide Singaporeans with a high
quality, well-integrated and vastly efficient
land transport system. To achieve this, MOT will
continue in its efforts to develop an affordable,
efficient and effective public transport system
with rail transport as its backbone, as well
as to ensure that our roads are kept free flowing.
MOT also aims to strengthen Singapore as a leading
hub for air and sea transport, and a leading
centre for international maritime activities.
Building an Effective and Quality Land Transport
System
An effective and quality land transport system
is integral to Singapore’s development,
both economically and as a society. In FY2005,
MOT spent $1,583 million on road and public transport
infrastructure among other projects, to provide
an affordable, efficient and effective transport
system for all. We expect to spend another $1,540
million in FY2006 as part of our commitment to
continually improve our transport system to enhance
Singaporeans’ quality of life.
Making Public Transport the Choice Option
Growing Our Rail Network by 30% between 2006
and 2012
 The Punggol LRT (East Loop) and Sengkang LRT
(West Loop), opened 29 January 2005, boosted
our rail network by 8%, to 138.2 km. Daily rail
ridership numbers have increased by 4.2% from
1.33 million in FY04/05 to 1.39 million (April
2005 to November 2005).
A total of $1,133 million has been allocated
to improve the rail network for FY2006. Longer-term
plans have been made to extend our network by
another 30% to 179km by 2012. These plans include:
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Boon Lay Extension (BLE) which is scheduled
for completion in 2009.
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This fully-elevated 3.8 km extension
of the East-West MRT line from the
existing Boon Lay station westwards
into the Jurong Industrial Estate
(JIE) comprises two MRT stations.
The BLE will serve the needs of the
people working in the JIE and help
to meet the higher future travel
demand with the expected intensification
of the industrial and residential
developments in the Jurong region.
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Circle Line (CCL) which is scheduled
for completion in 2010.
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This 33.3 km line is the next major
rail project after the North East Line.
CCL will be a long orbital line that
is fully underground and will link
all radial lines leading to the city.
CCL would offer inter-suburban linkages
not provided by existing MRT lines.
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Implemented in five stages and
to be fully completed in 2010, CCL
will allow commuters to bypass the
city centre and reduce travelling time.
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Downtown Extension (DTE) targeted to
be completed by 2012.
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This 3.4 km extension is a key
infrastructure to support the new Downtown
at Marina Bay. Besides providing seamless
travel to these areas, DTE will also
be an essential transport link to the
Central Business District (CBD) and
other parts of Singapore through the
interchange stations at Circle Line’s
Promenade Station and North East Line’s
Chinatown Station.
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An Accessible and Inclusive Public Transport
System
Making our public transport facilities more
elderly- and disabled- friendly
By 2030, 1 in 5 Singaporeans will be aged
65 and above. In anticipation of the expected
increase in our elderly population, our transport
system has to evolve to meet the needs of a more
diverse resident population. Specifically, our
initiatives to meet these needs include:
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All 45 existing MRT stations will be
fitted with barrier-free facilities such
as tactile guides and lifts to make them
more elderly- and disabled-friendly by
2006.
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LTA is working with the public bus operators,
viz. SBS Transit Ltd and SMRT Buses, to
bring in low-floor step-free buses from
2006 over the next 17 years. With the gradual
replacement of buses, 40% of buses would
be wheelchair accessible by 2010. LTA
has also mandated that these new buses
would have to incorporate ramps to enable
wheelchair access.
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LTA has also embarked on an accelerated
replacement programme to implement barrier-free
measures on our roads and road-related
facilities at a cost of $60 million to
enhance accessibility between destinations
over the next three to seven years. Priority
will be given to HDB estates to tie in
with HDB’s upgrading programme, and
other high-traffic areas. The works will
make it easier for seniors and persons
with disabilities to move about on public
streets and to use the public transport
system.
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Stepping Up Security
$25 million has been slated for further security
enhancements such as closed-circuit TVs in train
stations, construction of perimeter fencing and
the storage period of video images recorded in
MRT stations.
Quality Public Transport at Affordable Fares
Public transport fares will be kept affordable:
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 A new fare adjustment formula has been
introduced in July 2005. The fare adjustment
formula is responsive to wage and other
macroeconomic changes and so would allow
for a fare reduction when the formula yields
a negative figure. This fare adjustment
formula would also allow for productivity
gains by public transport operators to
be shared with commuters.
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The
quality of travel will see continuing improvements:
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Amendment of the Public Transport Council
(PTC) Act in November 2005 has given PTC
more regulatory oversight. This would enable
PTC to better ensure network efficiency
and enforce service standards on bus services.
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Innovative measures to improve bus journey
times and reliability were introduced in
2005. Examples include:
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The pilot full-day bus lane along
Orchard Road and new “FastForward” express
bus services that skip stops along
their parent service routes. (More
than 60 “Give
way to Buses Exiting” signs were also put up at selected bus stops islandwide
to encourage motorists to give way to buses exiting bus bays.)
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Upgrading
of commuter facilities continued in FY2005 to
improve commuters’ overall
traveling experience. This includes the completion
of the upgrading of some 90% (2,945) of our bus
shelters in 2005. We expect to spend another
$48 million in FY2006 to upgrade existing commuter
facilities.
Expanding Our Integrated Road Network
A Relatively Congestion-free Road Network for
Higher Productivity
$359 million is set aside to grow our road
network and to introduce intelligent traffic
management schemes to maximise the carrying capacity
of our road system to keep traffic smooth-flowing.
From 2001 to 2005, we expanded the road network
by 278 lane-km or a 3% increase to 8,456 lane-km.
The following road development projects have
been slated for completion in 2006:
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Road upgrading to semi-expressway from
Telok Blangah Road, Pasir Panjang Road,
West Coast Highway to Jalan Buroh:
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 The last stretch of work which involves
the completion of a viaduct at Pasir
Panjang Road and remaining roadwork
at Jalan Buroh near Jurong Pier Road
junction will be completed in the 1st
quarter of 2006. This semi-expressway
will provide a high-capacity road system
in the south-western sector of Singapore,
to cater to the increasing traffic
demand due to growing port and industrial
activities in Pasir Panjang, Tuas and
Jurong areas.
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Opening of Fort Canning tunnel and realignment
of Stamford Road scheduled for the 4th
quarter of 2006:
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The tunnel will provide a more
direct and uninterrupted traffic flow
for traffic from Stamford Road/Armenian
Street heading towards Penang Road
as motorists could bypass the traffic
light junction at Stamford Road/Bencoolen
Street.
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Going Forward
Existing traffic flow will be improved to
cater to the developments in the North-East sector:
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Construction of the Woodsville interchange
will start in end-2006 and be completed
by 2010. The interchange which is located
at the intersection of Serangoon Road,
Upper Serangoon Road, MacPherson Road and
Bendemeer Road will be further upgraded.
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Better alternative routes between the city
and the estates in the north of the island will
be provided to cater to the growing population
in the North East corridor:
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Construction of the Kallang Paya Lebar
Expressway (KPE) started in 2001. KPE will
stretch from East Coast Parkway (ECP) in
the south to the Tampines Expressway (TPE)
in the North East by 2008. Phase 1 of the
KPE, Kallang section, will be completed
in 2007 and Phase 2 in 2008.
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A Leading Hub for Sea Transportation
Enhancing Singapore’s Position as
a Premier Hub Port
 $254 million will be spent to expand Pasir
Panjang Terminal (PPT) which presently has land
for 26 berths. This expansion will eventually
add land for another 16 berths at PPT. This increase
in capacity to meet demand will allow our port
to sustain long-term growth and maintain Singapore’s
premier status as the world’s largest trans-shipment
hub.
As at end of 2005, Singapore’s ports
had 46 container berths, with a total capacity
of around 24 million TEUs. With the addition
of new berths by our terminal operators, Singapore
will be able to handle over 32 million TEUs by
2011.
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