HIDDEN_ADDENDA, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

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MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT: MR YEO CHEOW TONG
Minister for Transport

1 MOT will enhance Singapore’s economic competitiveness by strengthening our position as a leading transportation and logistics hub. We will also continue to provide Singaporeans with an effective, efficient and affordable public transport system.

LEADING HUB PORT: 2 Singapore is currently the world’s busiest port and largest transhipment hub. To cater to the future growth of our port sector, we will develop more berths at Pasir Panjang. MOT’s vision is to grow Singapore as a hub port for all types of high-value cargo, such as containers, vehicles and petrochemicals. We will maintain our position as the top bunkering port in the world by continuing to focus on quality, high standards and cost competitiveness.

PREMIER AVIATION HUB: 3 Despite the severe impact on air travel brought about by terrorism and the SARS outbreak, the aviation industry has recovered and air traffic has bounced back. MOT aims to increase the passenger and cargo throughput at Changi Airport. We will attract more airlines to call at Singapore by providing a competitive incentive package through our Air Hub Development Fund. MOT will also continue to adopt a liberal air transport policy to extend Changi’s air network and connectivity to other cities of the world, especially in emerging markets like China and India. To provide the best travel experience for our

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customers, we are upgrading our facilities at Terminal 2, followed by Terminal 1. In addition, the new Terminal 3 will be completed in 2008 to meet our projected traffic growth.

4 The emergence of budget airlines has reduced the cost of regional air travel. This will promote tourist inflow and help boost our services sector. MOT will develop Singapore as a leading hub for budget airlines. We will facilitate the growth of Singapore budget airlines and encourage more regional budget airlines to fly here. We are also building a budget airline terminal at Changi Airport, to be completed in 2006.

IMPROVING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRANSPORT: 5 Providing Singaporeans with an efficient and affordable public transport system remains a key priority for MOT. We will continue to develop our public transport infrastructure and improve the travel experience for commuters. We will also work closely with the public transport operators to enhance our bus, rail and taxi services.

6 This year, we will open the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) systems in Sengkang West and Punggol East. LTA will commence works to extend the East-West Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line beyond Boon Lay station. When completed in 2009, the East-West Line will serve Jurong West and the Jurong Industrial Estate. Together with other government agencies, MOT is also developing a transport network for the New Downtown at Marina Bay. To enhance our bus services, MOT is looking into measures to improve the efficiency of our bus network and reduce travel times. We are also reviewing the mechanism to determine public transport fares. One key objective is to incentivise the operators to improve their productivity so as to keep fares affordable.

7 For private transport, we have put in place systems to control the ownership and usage of private vehicles to achieve smooth-flowing traffic on our roads. We will continue to develop our road network and make use of technology such as traffic surveillance cameras and information dissemination systems to maximise road capacity. With economic growth, and a growing car population, road traffic will continue to increase. We will expand the ERP cordon to other areas and times of the day where traffic conditions warrant.

ENHANCING TRANSPORT SECURITY: 8 In a post 9-11 environment, security has become an increasingly important concern for many sectors, including transport. Together with the security agencies, MOT will enhance the security at our airports, sea ports, bus interchanges and MRT stations, while balancing the need to maintain cost competitiveness, affordability and operational efficiency.

ENABLING OPPORTUNITIES AND CREATING JOBS: 9 MOT will work closely with the industry to facilitate new business opportunities and create more jobs for Singaporeans. We will develop Singapore as an International Maritime Centre. MOT will continue to grow the Singapore Registry of Ships as a quality flag, and enhance our incentive schemes and operating environment to attract more ship owners and operators. We will strengthen our maritime services cluster by developing a comprehensive suite of ancillary services such as ship financing, marine insurance,

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maritime R&D, maritime legal and arbitration services. To develop Singapore’s maritime expertise, MOT will continue to support maritime education and training, and encourage more Singaporeans to take up maritime and maritime-related careers.

10 Lastly, MOT will regularly review our rules and regulations to facilitate business activities and promote entrepreneurship in the transport sector. We will partner the industry to enhance competitiveness and provide more opportunities for our companies to succeed in an increasingly global and connected economy.