Co-ordination of Road Works to Minimise Inconvenience to Road Users

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport whether the Road Opening Coordination Committee can improve its co-ordination among Government agencies to ensure that roads works carried out are minimised so that other road users are not inconvenienced.

The Second Minister for Transport (Mr Ng Chee Meng) (for the Minister for Transport): Mdm Speaker, the Road Opening Coordination Committee, comprising representatives from Government agencies and utility and telecommunications service providers, has been coordinating road works. While the Committee plans road works as far as one month ahead and as far as possible, some emergency works cannot be forecasted, such as repair of cable faults or gas leaks.

To further encourage agencies and contractors to more optimally plan their road works, LTA recently announced a new fee structure for road works permits that increases with the time taken for the works, the geographical extent of the works, and if the works take place during peak hours.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Mountbatten): Mdm Speaker, I get quite a lot of feedback from my residents that the road had been dug again and again and again. And it seems like the Road Opening Coordination Committee is really not doing its assessment well. May I ask the Minister whether is it possible to have a moratorium on digging up roads again unless it is for extreme emergency? That means once you have dug up a road, for the next four, five months, no digging of the road again unless it is for emergency to be determined and approved by the Minister only.

Mr Ng Chee Meng: I thank the Member for the question. LTA receives 12,000 or more applications a year for such road reconstruction or digging up for different purposes. The Committees that meet up includes agencies like HDB, PUB, NParks, JTC, Singtel, Singapore Power, LTA. So, it is quite a number of agencies that come together to coordinate and they do it a few months in advance. Where possible, they will make sure that it is not dug up repeatedly. Within a reasonable timeframe, the Road Opening Coordination Committee will optimise the road works.

2.29 pm

Mdm Speaker: Order. End of Question Time. The Clerk will now proceed to read the Order of the Day.