MASS RAPID TRANSIT CORPORATION BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 3.35 p.m.

The Minister for the Environment and Minister for Communications (Mr Ong Pang Boon): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Provisional Mass Rapid Transit Authority was established in July 1980 to undertake preparatory works pending a decision on the MRT. Members will recall that the rationale of the establishment of the Provisional Authority was to minimize delay once a firm decision to build the MRT had been taken. This move has paid off. The project is now progressing rapidly. Tenders have been invited for several major contracts. The first set of civil contracts is expected to be awarded next month. Construction work will then begin a month or two later. It is a credit to the Board and Management of the Provisional MRT Authority that we have managed to come this far so quickly. Although the Provisional MRT Authority has been administering the implementation of the project since Government took a firm decision in May last year, it does not possess the legal powers necessary to actually build and operate the MRT. Hence it is necessary to introduce fresh legislation to establish a permanent successor to the Provisional Authority and to vest it with the necessary powers. This permanent successor will be called the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation.

Part I of the Bill deals with preliminaries. Part 11 deals with the incorporation, functions and powers of the Corporation, and Part Ill sets out the financial provisions. These are, by and large, fairly standard and straightforward in the sense that broadly similar provisions can be found in the legislation of other statutory authorities. Part IV of the Bill sets out the special powers required for MRT implementation and the methods for exercising them. Parts V and VI deal with compensation rights and procedures. And finally, Part VII sews up the Bill with various miscellaneous provisions. I shall now highlight some of the more important provisions of the Bill.

Clause 17 sets out Government's decision to pay from public funds the full one-time cost of building and equipping the MRT.

Clause 18 imposes a duty on the Corporation to ensure as far as possible that, taking one year with another, its revenue is sufficient to meet the cost of operating the MRT.

Clauses 24 to 32 of the Bill set out the specific powers required by the Corporation to construct the MRT and the pro- cedures for exercising them. These powers include :

(a) the power to acquire land compulsorily under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act;

(b) the power to enter private and State lands for the purpose of building the MRT. This includes the right to bore tunnels through private property as well as the right to span or support viaducts over private property. In exercising this power, the Corporation is obliged to show clearly on maps the precise area within which the MRT may be built, and to make these maps available for public inspection. Moreover, the Corporation is required to serve at least two months' notice on owners and occupiers of private lands before exercising the power of entry.

On this point, I should add that the right to drive a tunnel through private property or to build a viaduct above it is necessary because of the strict geometric constraints on the MRT line. This is unlike roads or sewers which can be shifted this way or that, relatively easily. However, the Bill does provide a remedy in that the owner of any land affected in this way can, if he so wishes, require the MRT Corporation to buy over his land.

(c) the power to enter private buildings lying within 150 metres from the MRT alignment to carry out inspections, surveys and remedial works where necessary.

(d) the power to request the diversion or removal of utility lines, fences and other obstructions lying in the way of MRT construction.

Parts V and VI of the Bill deal with the issue of compensation. The circumstances in which it can be claimed as of right are described in the Schedule to the Bill. These include compensation for displacement from lands and buildings affected by MRT construction and compensation for structural damage to buildings arising from MRT construction.

A Railway Compensation Board will be established under clause 39 to arbitrate on disputes pertaining to compensation. This would be similar to the Tenants Compensation Board. The advantage of this approach is that it would be procedurally simpler and less costly than going to court. Nevertheless, the Bill does allow for appeals to the High Court against the Compensation Board's decisions on points of law.

Upon the passing of this Bill, the Provisional MRT Authority Act will be repealed and the MRT Corporation will take over all its assets, liabilities and responsibilities.

Sir, I beg to move.

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 Ong Pang Boon].

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