MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

The Ministry of Communications' duty is to develop Singapore as a major communications centre and to provide an effective and efficient public transport system. Bringing our concepts, facilities and procedures continually up to date will help us to keep pace with changing demands.

Civil Aviation

Government will pursue aviation policies that will attract more tourist traffic and cargo to Singapore.

The new facilities recently completed at Paya Lebar will be fully utilised. Systems and procedures will be further improved to ensure smoother cargo and passenger flow through the airport. The attractiveness of the airport shops will be enhanced through their operation by reputable firms. A wide range of quality goods at reasonable prices will be available.

Manpower will be trained and new operational systems and concepts tested for the efficient management of the new Changi Airport, which will become operational in early 1981. To cope with more air traffic in the 1980s and beyond, a new automated traffic control system will be installed. By the end of next year, controllers will be guiding aircraft using the new system.

Meteorological Services

To discharge Singapore's role as an efficient and reliable weather information centre, Changi Airport will have comprehensive and up-to-date meteorological equipment such as a computerised weather radar system, equipment for receiving data from the latest series of weather satellites, and computerised equipment for the observation of meteorological charac-teristics at Changi.

Telecommunications

The construction of various segments of the ASEAN Submarine Cable Network, the upgrading of telecommunication facilities at the Sentosa Satellite Earth Station, and the expansion of the international telephone and telex gateways at Comcentre will further widen and improve Singapore's communications links. The international telephone and telex services will be extended. International Direct Dialling (IDD) telephone services, now available to about 30 overseas destinations, will be further extended.

A new data service (called Telepac) has recently been offered. It provides local subscribers with access to computerised data bases in America. A high-speed facsimile service capable of conveying writing, scripts, fixed images, diagrams and signatures will be available from December 1978.

Singapore has reached the 'half million telephone' mark. The domestic network will be further expanded. Electronic switching equipment associated with the Stored Programme Control (SPC) Exchanges will be introduced to provide the most up-to-date and sophisticated services to local telephone subscribers. A Private Network Message Switching System to provide local companies with private telecommunication links to their overseas offices will be installed.

Maritime and Port Services

The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA)'s five gateways and Jurong Port handled a total of 17.9 million tonnes of general cargo in 1977, an increase of 4% over 1976.

With changing patterns of coastal and international shipping, container traffic is expected to increase at 25 per cent per annum. Hence plans for the provision of additional container berths are being made.

Conventional cargo traffic is shifting away from Keppel Wharves to the newly developed wharves at Pasir Panjang. To cope with the increased activities, three deep-water berths and two coastal berths at Pasir Panjang are scheduled to be in use in 1979.

A 4,000-seat Convention Hall is being constructed in the Singapore World Trade Centre. It is expected to be completed in March 1981.

Road Transportation

The past two years have seen improvements in the public transport system. There have been additions to existing bus routes, new services to new HDB housing estates, and expansion of the taxi fleet.

In the next few years, the quality of public transport will improve through better vehicles, improvement in working conditions, and better training of transport workers.

More taxis will be licensed. These taxis will be airconditioned. Radiophones will be encouraged, to improve the distribution of taxis in demand areas. There is a scheme for taxis to ply within the Central Business District (CBD) during peak hours which should alleviate the acute shortage of taxis in the CBD.

Scheme B buses are being introduced in the rural areas. More such buses will be introduced as necessary.

Studies on a comprehensive rail-based Mass Rapid Transit System are continuing.

Postal Services

A speedy and efficient mail service at competitive prices will ,be offered which can attract bulk postings from overseas sources into Singapore to be redistributed to other countries of the region. The Speedpost and International Express Delivery services will be extended.

A new 4-digit Post Code system will be introduced to replace the existing Postal District Number system which was started 28 years ago. This will improve mail handling and delivery. Operating hours of post offices in the town centres of Toa Payoh and Jurong will be extended to 9 pm.

ONG TENG CHEONG Minister for Communications