MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS

We will develop Singapore into an international communications centre by expanding and improving facilities. Services will be upgraded. This will be done through mechanisation and computerisation of systems, the use of modern equipment and well-trained staff.

Changi Airport will begin operations in mid-1981. The most up-to-date equipment and navigational aids have been incorporated to ensure safe and fast operations. We will launch a programme to familiarise the public with the new airport well before it opens. In keeping with the better services provided at Changi, the Meteorological Department will purchase new aids and equipment costing more than $5 million. This will improve the accuracy and timeliness of weather forecasts required for the efficient handling of aircraft.

Our telephone network will be expanded. The target for 1981 is 33 telephones for every 100 persons in Singapore. The programme will replace rotary-dial telephones with push-button ones. This should increase the reliability of telephone services. Telex services will be upgraded. A computerised electronic teleprinter will soon be offered to telex subscribers to speed up the sending of messages. Insurance companies, travel agents and the computer software industry will benefit from more sophisticated telecommunication services.

The container port will be expanded at a cost of $220 million to meet increasing demand. To complement the port, four new warehouses will be constructed at a cost of $150 million. Advanced cargo handling equipment and computers will be used so that more cargo can be handled with less manpower.

Postal services will be upgraded through the use of sophisticated sorting machines. The system of delivering mail will be reorganised to increase the efficiency of the postal services and to cut down the use of manpower.

Buses will be deployed more efficiently to give better service. At the same time the bus and taxi fleets will be expanded; modern and more economical vehicles will be used. Road safety will be emphasised to reduce accidents. Recalcitrant drivers will be trained and re-educated.

Studies on a mass rapid transit system for Singapore will continue.

ONG TENG CHEONG Minister for Communications