OVERHEAD BRIDGES (Letting out for advertisements)

Mr Ho Kah Leong asked the Minister for Law and National Development (a) how many overhead bridges there are in the Republic; (b) on how many of them has advertising space been let out, and the nature of the advertisements; and (c) what is the annual income derived from those advertisements.

Mr E. W. Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, there are 24 overhead pedestrian bridges in the Republic; three more bridges are under construction; and tenders have been called for the construction of another three. Ten of these overhead pedestrian bridges have been let out for advertisements, and the advertisements displayed are in respect of goods generally, medicines, and cigarettes. The annual income received from these advertisements was $54,110 in 1968 and $67,062 in 1969.

Mr Ho Kah Leong: (In Mandarin): My first supplementary question is this. Regarding the advertisements of cigarettes on these overhead bridges, cannot the Minister try to cancel them in order to discourage cigarette smoking?

My next question is on the tenders for the construction of another three overhead bridges. Can the Minister inform the House where they will be built?

Mr Barker: Mr Speaker, Sir, if we cancel the contracts for the advertisements of these cigarettes, we will be liable for breach of contract. These are annual contracts, and when they expire at the end of one year I assure the Member for Jurong that we will follow Radio and Television Singapore and not renew advertisements for cigarettes.

As for the six bridges, the three under active construction now are one at New Bridge Road, near the People's Park; another one at New Bridge Road, near Hong Lim Park; and the third at Tiong Bahru Road, near Redhill Close. The two overhead bridges which are already at New Bridge Road are, in fact, constructed by the People's Park Complex developers.

Tenders have been called for the construction of three more overhead bridges at Bukit Timah Road; one near Swiss Cottage School, the other near Coronation Road, and the third at Linden Drive. I think the Member will agree with me that the traffic along Bukit Timah and Dunearn Roads on the main highway to Johore is indeed very heavy; hence three more overhead bridges.