JURONG TOWN CORPORATION (AMENDMENT) BILL

3.16 p.m.

The Minister for Finance (Mr Hon Sui Sen): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to amend the Jurong Town Corporation Act, 1968 (No. 5 of 1968)".

Bill read the First time.

Second Reading

Mr Speaker: Second Reading, what day?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Now, Sir,I lay upon the Table a Certificate of Urgency signed by the President in respect of the Bill.

Certificate of Urgency handed in.

Mr Speaker: The Certificate is in order. Are typed or printed copies of the Bill available for Members?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Yes, Sir.

Typed copies of the Bill distributed to Members.

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move. "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Bill seeks to amend the Jurong Town Corporation Act, 1968, to provide for the power to maintain adequate and efficient port services and facilities in the Jurong Port and the power to borrow money direct from any source. In regard to port operations, the present Act is silent and while the Jurong Town Corporation has power to borrow by the creation of debentures, this method is not acceptable to both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank which do not wish to be involved as debenture holders. Therefore, power to borrow direct must be provided.

The Jurong Port, with its five berths, started operation in early 1966 and the cargo handled has now passed the one million-ton mark. It is expected that, with the rapid development of Jurong Town and with the increasing number of industries established, the cargo handled will increase by about 20 per cent per year for the next ten years. The Port has now reached full occupancy. It is therefore necessary that it be expanded to cope with the future demand. The expansion which is planned involves the reclamation of Pulau Chichir to make available 40 acres of land, extension of Berth No. 5 from its present 465 feet to its full length of about 900 feet, and connection of Berth No. 1 to Pulau Chichir by a causeway to provide for 2.400 feet of additional deep-water wharves. The total cost of this expansion is about $30 million.

In view of the large sum involved, the Jurong Town Corporation has applied to the Asian Development Bank for a loan of about $25 million. Negotiations for this loan have now been successfully concluded, and the President of the Asian Development Bank will be in Singapore to sign the Loan Agreement on the 4th September, 1970. The early passage of this Bill is therefore necessary.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Hwang Soo Jin (Jalan Kayu): Mr Speaker, Sir, in view of the very substantial amount of money that is required to develop the port facilities of the Jurong Town Corporation, I am just wondering if the Minister can tell us what arrangements will be made to ensure that there is no duplication of the services that are already being provided by the Port of Singapore Authority. Or, as time goes on, could there be a conflict of interests between the two Authorities as regards the type of services that can be rendered?

Mr Hon Sui Sen: Mr Speaker, Sir, the problem of duplication of services has been very carefully considered by the World Bank which finances the Port of Singapore Authority, and also by the Jurong Town Corporation, which is now asking for this loan from the Asian Development Bank. The World Bank, in its loan to the P.S.A., specified that there should be consultation with them before any expansion of port services is effected in Jurong. In this particular case, they have given their approval for this loan by the Asian Development Bank to proceed.

I would also suggest that, because the Jurong Port is now being administered by the P.S.A, on behalf of the Jurong Town Corporation, in fact, there will be no duplication in practice. The nature of the cargo handled by the Port in Jurong is also entirely different from the kind of cargo which is being handled in the P.S.A, area. The Jurong Port handles, in the main, bulk cargoes which are intended for the Jurong New Town. I therefore consider that there will, in practice, be no duplication at all.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Mr Hon Sui Sen].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.