PAYA LEBAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Adequacy of facilities)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Communications (a) whether the present facilities at the Paya Lebar International Airport are sufficient to cope with the anticipated increase in air traffic in the 1970s; and (b) whether there are any plans to meet the anticipated increase in passenger traffic with the introduction of the Jumbo Jets.

Mr Phua Bah Lee (for the Minister for Communications): Mr Speaker, Sir, the present facilities at our Paya Lebar International Airport were planned to meet the requirements of present generation jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707, Douglas DC 8 and VC 10. To cope with the newer and larger types of aircraft such as the Boeing 747 jumbo jets and supersonic aircraft like the TU 144 or Concorde which are expected to be in commercial service in the late 1970s, a firm of aviation consultants in the United Kingdom was appointed to prepare a master plan for the development of our Airport for the next two decades, i.e., up to the period 1990. This firm of consultants, Scott, Wilson, Kirkpatrick & Partners, commenced work in March 1968 and its report was submitted to Government in May this year.

The consultants' recommendations have been studied and, so far, only the first phase of development for immediate improvements to existing facilities, e.g., alterations and extensions to the present terminal building, improvement to taxiways and extension of the jet apron, to cater for traffic up till 1976, has been approved and is estimated to cost over $7 million. This does not, however, include projects which have just been completed, namely, the extension and strengthening of the runway from 9,000 feet to 11,000 feet and the commissioning of the Instrument Landing System amounting to over $5 million.

As the medium- and long-term recommendations for further development of the Airport may involve capital expenditure to the order of over $600 million and advances in technology may result in certain proposals becoming obsolete, these proposals will have to be reviewed at the appropriate time by the Treasury, prior to implementation, if found necessary.