CHANGI AIRPORT (Noise generated by aircraft)

Mr Teo Chong Tee asked the Minister for National Development and Communications what will be the area around the new Changi International Airport which will have adverse noise effect on the residents.

Mr Ong Teng Cheong (for the Minister for National Development and Communications): Mr Speaker, Sir, tolerance to noise is very subjective in nature. It varies from person to person and from community to community. Nevertheless the planners had given serious consideration to noise generated by aircraft during landings and take-offs when drawing up the Master Plan for Changi Airport. The second runway for Changi Airport will be constructed on reclaimed land so that all landings and take-offs from this runway will be over water. This means less noise to residents living near the Airport. Landings and take-offs from the first runway will generate some noise for residents living near the Airport.

A study of the noise that is generated by the noisier aircraft such as the Boeing 707 or DC 8 during landings and take-offs from the first runway, indicates that only those areas close to Somapah Road, Wing Loong Road and that stretch of Upper Changi Road from Wing Loong Road to the northern coastline would have Perceived Noise Levels about

100 PNdb. This is approximately the noise level produced by a nearby power lawnmower. As a matter of interest, this is less than the noise produced by a rock-n-roll band (105 PNdb). Sir, I am tabling in the Library a detailed plan showing the anticipated noise level around Changi Airport for Members to study.

Presently, the noisier aircraft are the Boeing 707 and the DC 8. The wide-bodied aircraft like the Boeing 747, the DC 10, the Lockheed 1011, and the Airbus are much quieter. Most airlines are now using more and more quieter aircraft. Furthermore, all new aircraft manufactured on or after 1st January 1976 are required by international standards to be just as quiet, if not more so, than the wide-bodied aircraft. The older and noisier Boeing 707s and DC 8s are being gradually phased out. Presently, 30% of the aircraft passing through Singapore are in the "noisy" category. By 1982, this is expected to drop to only about 20%.

Depending on the amount and pattern of traffic, the Department of Civil Aviation may be able to confine all aircraft movements after midnight to the second runway, thus further reducing the noise level.

Mr Baptist: Sir, a supplementary question. Is it not true that Changi Airport will have heavier traffic with greater frequency? This would most certainly increase the noise exposure duration to the people in Somapah Road and the areas nearby. If the noise level is 100 db or more and if the duration is for more than six hours, there would be a possibility of Noise Induced Deafness for the people living in those areas. What plans has the Minister in mind to ensure that the people living there do not contract Noise Induced Deafness?

Mr Ong Teng Cheong: Sir, would the Member for Potong Pasir not agree that it is better that the airport is now moved to Changi than to remain at Paya Lebar where the effect on the population there would be greater?

As I mentioned earlier, we have the choice of two runways to select from in the future whereby the noisier aircraft will be diverted to use the second runway. I agree with the Member that the frequency will increase but it is not a constant exposure over a period of six hours. The peak period would be in the evenings and this would be controlled through careful management when we move to Changi.