SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (Construction of second runway)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Communications whether his Ministry has come to a final decision on the construction of a second runway for the Singapore Airport; where will it be constructed; and when construction is expected to commence.

The Minister for Communications (Mr Yong Nyuk Lin): Mr Speaker, Sir, on the basis of the present rate of growth of air traffic in Singapore, my Ministry anticipates that a second runway would be needed around 1977 or 1978. The utilisation rate of the present runway capacity at Paya Lebar is around 40 per cent and is increasing rapidly.

Last year, 41,241 commercial aircraft, two million passengers, 25.5 million kilograms of freight and 2.8 million kilograms of mail, passed through the Paya Lebar Airport. This represents an increase of approximately 20 per cent, 20 per cent, 21 per cent and a drop of 10 per cent respectively over the 1970 performance.

As the second runway is needed around 1977-78, construction will have to commence around 1974. Therefore, the Department of Civil Aviation is proceeding with work to build the second runway at the Singapore International Airport at Paya Lebar.