ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS NOT REACHED BY 1.30 PM CAR PARKS FOR MRT STATIONS

Mr Heng Chiang Meng asked the Minister for National Development, in light of the land transport policy, whether he will consider building car parks near Mass Rapid Transit stations in rural areas where the presence of available nearby land permits such car parks.

Mr S. Dhanabalan: There are sufficient carparks in HDB new towns near the existing MRT stations for commuters who wish to park and ride. These carparks are either within the town centres or within the residential areas.

There may be vacant land around MRT stations in the fringe areas. However, these are earmarked for development. We will not be optimising the potential of the vacant land around the MRT stations if these are used for building carparks only.