Chee Hong Tat
Singapore
“The National Parks Board (NParks) resumed crow shooting operations in March 2026 across nine districts, including Yishun. These sites were prioritised based on several factors, including the volume and severity of public feedback on crow-related issues, as well as the technical feasibility of conducting shooting operations safely at each…”
“To drive sustainable construction and reduce reliance on conventional diesel generators, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has required the use of battery energy storage systems (BESS) or synchronised generator set systems at Build-to-Order construction worksites for all building tenders called since February 2025.”
“The Housing and Development Board (HDB) tracks resident feedback on maintenance-related issues, including spalling concrete and structural cracks within HDB flats. Such issues are much less common in younger flats, compared to older flats above 30 years old.”
“The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) provides resources on its website to guide building owners and Management Corporations Strata Title (MCSTs) on lift modernisation.”
“Private retail developments sold through the Government Land Sales Programme are intended to complement the commercial offerings in public developments undertaken by agencies, such as the Housing and Development Board.”
“The National Parks Board (NParks) is reviewing both the Animals and Birds Act and the Code of Animal Welfare (COAW). The former will include pet sector businesses and the latter will include and start with pet groomers.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,840 lines we hold for Chee Hong Tat, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 37.
“Taxis are exempt from the requirement for passengers below 1.35 metres in height to be secured in child seats, as they provide street-hail services. Unlike ride-hail services, street-hail passengers would not be able to inform the driver in advance if they need child seats. To meet the commuting needs of families with young children, ride-hail platforms are required to allow passengers to indicate if they need a child seat when booking a ride, so that the matched vehicle will come with the requested child seat. Passengers with young children could use their own child seats when riding taxis or private hire cars.”
“Our income tax concessions for an industry are mainly intended to support economic growth and enterprise in Singapore. In assessing any proposed tax concession, the Government conducts a cost-benefit analysis, assesses its effectiveness given the nature of the industry and considers whether the proposed concession is consistent with our tax principles and policy. The Government also considers whether the proposed concession is necessary, given the other existing non-tax measures that may already be in place to support the industry.”
“The information requested for the latest available five-year period from 2019 to 2023 is in Table 1 below. This can be obtained from the publicly available Commissioner of Charities Annual Reports.”
“The section 14N tax deduction is intended to help businesses, especially small and medium enterprises in service industries, reduce business costs when they refresh or upgrade their premises to improve their service offerings for their customers. It allows businesses to claim deductions on expenses incurred for qualifying renovation and refurbishment works. We have disallowed expenses relating to antiques and fine art as they are commonly acquired for investment rather than for the intended purpose of section 14N. Where antiques and fine art constitute a plant for a business in carrying out its trade or business operations, the expenditure will qualify for capital allowance.”
“We have received related questions for the 26 February 2025 Parliament Sitting and have addressed this question then. [Please refer to "Stakeholders' Feedback on Safety of Transporting Workers on Back of Lorries and Suggestions to Ban This", Official Report, 26 February 2025, Vol 95, Issue 153, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“The Ministry of Transport will be sharing more details regarding the review of the point-to-point transport sector at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate and this question will be addressed then. [Please refer to "Committee of Supply – Head W (Ministry of Transport)", Official Report, 5 March 2025, Vol 95, Issue 158, Budget section.]”
“As of end 2024, less than 2% of owner-occupied private residential properties had outstanding Property Tax (PT) bills in arrears or on extended instalment plans. About 15% of these properties involved owner-occupiers who were aged 65 and above. The majority of these seniors were retirees. We understand that some retiree home owners may face cash flow issues with paying their PT bills. That is why the Ministry of Finance introduced the Extended General Interbank Recurring Order Scheme for Residential Property (Retirees) in Budget 2024. The scheme provides a 24-month interest-free instalment plan for PT payments to eligible retiree owner-occupiers. We will continue to support seniors and retirees, including through healthcare subsidies, Goods and Services Tax Voucher, MediSave and the Silver Support Scheme. As announced at Budget 2025, each Singaporean senior aged 60 and above will also receive $800 in SG60 Vouchers in July 2025. The Government will continue to monitor the situation and study whether more assistance is required for those facing genuine hardship.”
“Mr Chairman, I first want to thank Mr Tan for his clarification and for stating clearly his position that he supports the development of T5 and for our air hub at Changi to remain competitive. So, I wanted to thank Mr Tan for that indeed because the competitiveness of our air hub is one of the goals. But as I mentioned in my speech, we also want to make sure that we grow in a sustainable manner. So, both objectives are important. And for the second one on sustainability, we will pay attention to a few aspects. Of course, the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel is one. We will look at whether we can ramp up our adoption, moving in tandem with global developments and the availability of supply, because that is one constraint that affects many airlines at the moment. New investments in production capacity will be needed to be able to increase supply, then to be able to support higher levels of sustainable aviation fuel adoption. But besides sustainable aviation fuel, we also want to look at how we design the airport – and T5 will incorporate this – to be an environmentally sustainable airport. So, the way the airport operates, both the air side operations, and also on the passenger side, how we use energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption, to be able to maximise our usage of renewable energy, and also one other aspect which we are looking at is to use technology to improve air traffic management, because if you can reduce the time that the planes are circling and waiting up in the skies, and you can, through that process, reduce fuel consumption, I think that is also another way to be able to help businesses to save cost and reduce carbon emissions.”
“Mr Chairman, Mr Melvin Yong and the union leaders from NTWU have been working very closely with us on the autonomous vehicles pilot. And Ms Yeo Wan Ling has taken over from Mr Yong, and I think that partnership continues. So, I want to assure Mr Yong that we will involve the unions closely in this pilot, because we understand that there will be an impact on workers and we want to assure our workers that when we make some of these changes we will bring the workers along with us, and if there are some jobs that will be affected as a result of the implementation of new technologies, we will help our workers to be able to make the transition. Mr Chairman, we intend to start the deployment of the autonomous vehicle shuttles with routes that are not so challenging. So, the first will be Service 400, which serves the Marina Bay South and Shenton Bay area, and the second one is Service 191 in one-north after that. We have launched a Request for Proposal in January to purchase autonomous buses for this pilot and we intend to award the contract by the end of this year, and so to get the pilot started, and then we can learn from the experience as we go along, both from the operator's point of view, but also from the union's point of view and then to see what we can do together to give assurance to our workers.”
“Mr Chairman, I want to assure Mr Ang that we will certainly follow up with him and his team in Jurong West to take a look at what are the areas for improvement. For the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, we do need to look at the local situations, the ridership, the demand, but I think based on what Mr Ang has shared, I will certainly ask LTA colleagues to have a good discussion with him and his colleagues to see whether we are able to make some improvements. Bus stops, I will also ask LTA to follow up with Mr Ang.”
“So, because of that, this element in our process, in the way we work, long-term planning, I think will be quite critical, and you can see that in our planning for Terminal 5 and for Tuas Port, And I will add a last one, which I think is an area that we need to continue to work on, which is to use the three advantages that I mentioned earlier – tripartism, our ecosystem integration, and with the ability to plan long term – to also look at how we can continuously review and improve our regulatory environment for businesses, to reduce regulatory burdens, business costs, to be able to support new technologies and innovations.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Mr Neil Parekh for his question. I think this is an important topic to focus on, especially in our current environment where we see more volatility and more disruptions to trade flows and supply chains. What are the key enablers that will ensure that Singapore can retain our competitive advantage? I did say in my speech earlier, Mr Chairman, that we must not assume that our current hub status and our competitive advantage will be there forever. The competition is very intense and we do need to make sure that we continue to improve, to upgrade our capabilities to be able to meet with this rising competition. There are a few key enablers in my mind that I think would be critical. First, is our strong tripartite partnership. This is a key strength for Singapore, and the tripartite partners – the employers, the unions, the Government – we work closely together to achieve a win-win outcome for all stakeholders. And this is something which allows us to be able to overcome obstacles, deal with crisis, including during COVID-19, and to be able to seize new opportunities. Second, I would say one of our advantages is to be able to work as an ecosystem in an integrated manner. So, we do not just work in silos. We bring the stakeholders together, and whether it is within the Government, across different Government agencies, or with the private sector and the unions, we are able to then look at what will be the best solution as a whole and maximise our collective strength. Third, long-term planning, because many of these capabilities, whether is it hardware, infrastructure, skills upgrading, you cannot ramp up at the last minute. You need a runway.”
“So, I hope this can be scaled up and we can reap more benefits. Mdm Chair, as a nation, we have come together over the last 60 years to improve the lives of Singaporeans and helped many individuals, many families to fulfil their aspirations. Transport has played a vital role in this. We built up major transport infrastructure, such as our MRT network, our airport, our seaports, and these have catalysed and enabled the progress of our nation from third-world to first. And we are still building. As we navigate through unchartered waters in an increasingly fragmented and volatile world, the key values from our transport journey remain relevant. Singapore must continue to stay open and strengthen our connections with the world. We will always place Singaporeans at the heart of all we do and work with tripartite partners to strengthen our social compact and grow our economy. And finally, we will take calculated risks and make bold long-term decisions, as we venture out of our comfort zone to seize new opportunities. Madam, transport will continue to be an enduring part of the Singapore Story, as an enabler to improve the lives of Singaporeans, to keep our world moving, and to ensure that we remain connected to the world and to one another. [Applause.]”
“In the mid-2030s, Changi’s handling capacity will increase from 3.0 million to 5.4 million tonnes per annum with the opening of the Changi East Industrial Zone. This will be complemented by the Airport Logistics Park 2 that was announced last year, which will also provide additional capacity to anchor logistics activities, including Regional Distribution Centres and freight forwarding. In the lead-up to these developments, we will continue to work with industry partners to ensure we have sufficient capacity to meet growing air cargo demand. Changi Airport’s largest cargo handler, SATS, has plans to invest $100 million over the next two years to upgrade its existing air freight terminals at the Changi Airfreight Centre. With this, SATS’ cargo handling capacity will increase by 30%, from 2.3 million tonnes to three million tonnes per annum, and ensure it has sufficient capacity to support growing air cargo demand over the next decade. This is a good example of how we work together as a One Aviation Community, to support one another and, ultimately, to enhance Changi’s competitiveness. Second, capability. We will harness technology to uplift productivity and allow our cargo workers to optimise their time and resources. CAAS and Changi Airport Group are supporting the air cargo community to implement an ecosystem digital solution for truck dock slot pre-booking, with full roll-out expected later this year. This transforms cargo collection and lodgement from a “first-come-first-served” basis, to one that is pre-planned and better optimised. This will raise the productivity and efficiency of current processes. And the outcomes from the initial phase have been promising, with dwell time by truckers reduced by up to 30%.”
“CAAS will work with economic agencies and industry to identify key links and to develop schemes that can accelerate these new connections. Next, on Infrastructure. CAAS will work with aviation stakeholders to plan enabling infrastructure for the Singapore air hub and to coordinate development across companies. It will provide funding support to accelerate the development of common use infrastructure that will benefit all airport users, to support state-of-the-art, efficient and cost-effective airport operations. Third, on Innovation and Technology. CAAS will work with the industry and the research community to develop a 10-year technology roadmap to guide technology planning and to translate research and development into operational capabilities that can be deployed across the aviation ecosystem. The technology roadmap will leverage the development of T5 to set up living labs that can be used to testbed and grow new capabilities. Fourth, on Manpower. Skilled manpower is a key competitive factor for air hubs around the world. CAAS will work with aviation companies and unions to grow a quality workforce, comprising a strong Singapore Core complemented by foreign workers who are important contributors to Changi’s overall competitiveness. We will invest in skills upgrading for our workers and redesign jobs to better attract and retain local workers. In this way, our air hub can continue to remain competitive and provide good employment opportunities for Singaporeans. Madam, besides moving people, Singapore’s transport story is also about moving goods. We will strengthen Changi’s position as a trusted, efficient and well-connected air cargo hub. Let me address Ms Poh Li San’s question on how we will develop our air cargo hub. First, capacity.”
“As Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean said, we are climate realists, not climate zealots. While our air hub is well-placed to ride the winds of growth, competition is intensifying. We are mindful about rising costs faced by aviation stakeholders. The Government is committed to working with the aviation industry to improve our service levels, raise productivity and reduce operating costs where possible. If we achieve cost savings, we will share these with our industry partners. One of the biggest advantages that Singapore has today over many competitors is our ability to work as one aviation ecosystem and the close tripartite relationship between companies, unions and the Government. We must continue to leverage on this as we look at ways to enhance Changi’s air hub competitiveness. To Mr Mark Lee, Ms Poh Li San and Mr Sharael Taha’s questions, we will strengthen our support for Changi in four key areas: Connectivity, Infrastructure, Innovation and Technology, and Manpower. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) will commit $1 billion over the next five years to catalyse action and partnership in these four areas. And this is on top of the $5 billion top-up to the Changi Airport Development Fund that the Prime Minister announced. Over the next few months, CAAS will work with companies and union leaders, Government agencies and international partners to develop schemes in each of these areas that will help our companies and workers to thrive and succeed. First, on Connectivity. Singapore’s current network of over 160 city links connect us with the world and this is a key enabler for our economy. We aim to build a larger network of over 200 city links by the mid-2030s, to anchor Singapore as a key global node.”
“At last year’s COS debate, I explained why we will start with a 1% target in 2026 to spur investments in sustainable aviation fuel production capacity and increase this over time to 3% to 5% by 2030, subject to global developments and the wider availability and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel. I believe this is a pragmatic approach, because the cost of sustainable aviation fuel is currently much higher than conventional jet fuel, and we need to strike a balance between sustainability and competitiveness. Several countries, including India, Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, have also adopted a 1% initial target before ramping up in subsequent years. The UK started with a 2% sustainable aviation fuel mandate in 2025 and not 10%, as what Mr Tan said. Our approach is to enable our aviation sector to grow and improve environmental sustainability concurrently. We launched the Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint last year, which sets out Singapore’s medium and long-term goals for international and domestic emissions, and our plans to achieve them with stakeholders across the airport, airline and air traffic management domains. Our air hub is a source of many good jobs for Singaporeans and a key enabler for many other sectors in our economy, such as manufacturing, professional services and tourism. So, I hope Mr Dennis Tan is not suggesting that we should forgo building T5, as that would bring more flights to Singapore. Madam, if our air hub is not competitive, planes will still fly, but they just bypass Changi. How is that good for Singapore and Singaporeans? This Government cares about environmental sustainability, but we also care about the well-being of our people, our workers and our businesses.”
“I thank our tripartite partners from the industry and unions for their strong support in helping the air hub to recover and grow, and to our aviation workers for their contributions and hard work. Madam, the future of aviation is bright. Global passenger volumes are expected to double in the next two decades, with the Asia Pacific regions driving half of this growth. As an international business centre and a global air hub, Singapore is well-placed to capture these opportunities. We will break ground for Terminal 5 (T5) in a few months. T5 will increase Changi’s capacity by 50 million passengers per annum, on top of the current 90 million passengers per annum. T5 will also enhance our hub status and provide new and exciting employment opportunities for our people. 4.00 pm Madam, Mr Dennis Tan raised concerns that building T5 would result in more flights and higher aviation emissions. As a member state of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO), Singapore is committed to contributing towards ICAO and IMO’s global ambition of achieving net-zero targets by or around 2050. The United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change sets the global reporting requirements for greenhouse gas inventories. Emissions from international aviation and maritime do not accrue to national greenhouse gas inventories. Singapore complies with this. Likewise, there is no benefit for Changi to move too far ahead of other airports when it comes to adoption of sustainable aviation fuel.”
“In the coming months, we will open three integrated air-conditioned interchanges at Woodleigh, Pasir Ris, and Punggol Coast. LTA also plans to upgrade several bus interchanges which have been in operation for some time, including Toa Payoh and Bishan bus interchanges. (In English): Madam, let me turn to my final topic of how we are providing more opportunities for businesses and workers in the transport sector. This Government believes in the importance of planning long term and having the ability and resources to implement our plans effectively. This is how we developed Singapore into a global aviation and maritime hub, and why we have made significant investments in developing Changi Airport Terminal 5 and Tuas Port. These achievements do not happen automatically and we should never take our hub status and competitive advantages for granted, given the intense global competition. Singapore remains a leading maritime hub, achieving new records in 2024. We will continue to build on this momentum to strengthen our competitiveness. Minister of State Murali Pillai will provide more details. Madam, I will share on our aviation sector which has recovered well from the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 12 months ending February 2025, Changi saw 68.4 million passenger movements, representing a full recovery over pre-COVID-19 levels. The air hub is off to a good start in 2025, with Changi’s passenger numbers exceeding 11.5 million for the first two months of 2025, a 7% increase compared to the same period last year. We added 11 new city links in 2024, to places like Brussels, Guiyang, Phu Quoc and Vancouver. Our strong performance would not have been possible without the collective efforts of the aviation community.”
“] Chairman, we will implement the West Coast Extension Line in two phases: phase one will extend the Jurong Region Line to interchange with the Cross-Island Line at West Coast station while phase two will extend the Jurong Region Line to interchange with the Circle Line. Upon completion, the West Coast extension will reduce commuting time for residents in the West to the city centre. Additionally, we are exploring the construction of two new MRT lines. The first is tentatively named as the Seletar Line. It will connect the north and northeast regions to the Greater Southern Waterfront. The other new MRT line is tentatively named as the Tengah Line, will connect the north and northwest regions to the Greater Southern Waterfront. If these two MRT lines are feasible, they can be joined to form a longer MRT line – the Seletar-Tengah Line, running from the North to the West through the city centre. If feasible, we expect that these lines to be completed in phases from the 2040s, benefitting more than 400,000 households. Our bus services complement the MRT network in improving the residents' commuting convenience. Last year, we invested close to an additional $1 billion on the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP). To date, we have launched 10 new bus routes and enhanced 36 existing bus routes. In this coming year, we plan to introduce around 15 new services across Punggol, Bidadari, Yew Tee and Tampines and other such areas to benefit more residents. We will continue to improve the designs of MRT stations and bus interchanges. This year, we plan to rejuvenate the stations on North-South line and East-West line. Furthermore, we are pushing forward with upgrading of bus interchanges.”
“I have asked LTA and the operators to step up their Enforcement – which is the fifth "E" – by strengthening our regulatory powers and increasing the penalties to deter egregious commuters, especially repeat offenders and those who refuse to cooperate when they are advised by public transport workers. I thank Members from both sides of the House, including Mr Gan Thiam Poh, Mr Lim Biow Chuan and Mr Dennis Tan, for expressing their support for strengthening enforcement against such behaviours. Another key aspect of commuter experience is safety. In July last year, we launched the Bus Safety Tripartite Taskforce. Minister of State Murali Pillai and our tripartite partners sought views from thousands of commuters, bus captains and both local and international safety experts, who shared their ideas to improve safety practices for the public bus sector. The task force has submitted its recommendations, which I have accepted. These include how we can equip buses with more safety features, facilitate their smooth travel on the road, and better support Bus Captains to provide safe journeys for all. Making roads safer for everyone also means that more pedestrians and cyclists can benefit from active mobility through Friendly Streets and Road Repurposing Projects. Senior Minister of State Amy Khor will elaborate on this. While we need to be inclusive to those with genuine mobility needs, we must also ensure the safety of other path users. Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng will give an update on the implementation timelines for the changes to the safety rules for Personal Mobility Aids that were announced last year. Madam, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.”
“Senior Parliamentary Secretary Baey Yam Keng will provide more details. This Station Rejuvenation Programme will refresh our stations, making them more welcoming and user-friendly while preserving key heritage elements. Similarly, our bus interchanges have also grown into familiar community hubs for residents. We will open new bus interchanges to provide more convenient transfers and refresh existing ones to improve commuter experience and comfort. In the coming months, we will open three integrated air-conditioned interchanges at Woodleigh, Pasir Ris and Punggol Coast. LTA will also upgrade older bus interchanges. Works have already started at Toa Payoh bus interchange, Singapore’s first integrated transport hub. In response to Mr Ang Wei Neng, commuters at Bishan, Bukit Merah, Eunos and Tampines bus interchanges can look forward to upgrades with new rain screens, additional benches and fans to improve their comfort and commuting experience. We also welcome suggestions and ideas from commuters. I am glad that Members agree with the Government’s vision to build a car-lite society, where Walk-Cycle-Ride are the main modes of transport. LTA will set aside an experimentation fund to support ideas from commuters and work with them to jointly develop cost-effective solutions. While the vast majority of commuters are considerate and gracious, we need to protect the quality of their commute from the small minority of black sheep whose anti-social behaviours and actions cause discomfort and, sometimes, even endanger others. We will continue with our public education efforts, but we know education alone will not be enough and needs to go together with effective enforcement.”
“LTA is planning a multi-year effort to review and improve our infrastructure and services, guided by four "E"s. First, Enhance. We will improve the design of all our transport nodes, to apply what we learnt from building new lines, stations and interchanges to enhance our existing infrastructure. Second, Enlarge. We will enlarge the reach and coverage of our commuter infrastructure through features, such as covered linkways, more benches and additional escalators and lifts. This will also make it safer and more convenient for our seniors to age well in the community. Third, Enliven. Our transport nodes can host more community activities, offer better retail and F&B services, and serve as venues for promoting the arts, heritage and music to support our local artists and performers. Fourth, Enable. Commuters can make better use of our spaces and services, through improved signages, wayfinding and digital services. And I would like to thank Mr Ong Hua Han for his feedback and suggestions. Madam, we acknowledge that in some of these areas, there is room for improvement. MOT and LTA are committed to making these improvements by learning from best practices, here and abroad. As the North-South and East-West Lines have been in operation for over 30 years, I asked LTA to look into a multi-year programme to rejuvenate the stations on these lines. We will study how we can do this through a Station Rejuvenation Programme for the North-South and East-West lines. We will review the upgrades required for each station, tailored to the station’s ridership, footprint, typology and surrounding developments. Yishun station, one of our older MRT stations in Singapore, which is expected to become even busier with surrounding developments, will be the pilot project for this programme.”
“Senior Minister of State Amy Khor will provide an update on how we will improve the stability of supply, strengthen contestability and improve passenger experience and access. Mdm Chair, the public transport experience goes beyond hardware and infrastructure; we must also pay attention to improving safety and comfort for commuters. Commuters remain at the heart of how we design our transport services. LTA has been progressively enhancing its infrastructure, working closely with Grassroots Advisers and community leaders to better serve our commuters and residents in different towns across Singapore. The design for MRT stations and bus interchanges has evolved and improved over time. For instance, newer train stations and bus interchanges, such as Punggol Coast station on the North-East Line and Buangkok Bus Interchange, are better integrated with residential and commercial developments, making them more accessible and vibrant. Our stations, interchanges, trains and buses have also been equipped with more features to improve accessibility for passengers of diverse needs, such as family-friendly facilities and wheelchair-friendly Passenger Service Centres. LTA has developed strong engineering expertise to build our large-scale infrastructure projects. We want to complement this by enhancing LTA’s capabilities to integrate human-centric design with its engineering expertise. Just like how companies like Apple and Dyson are known for combining engineering with design to bring greater value to consumers. We want to learn from such industry leaders and see how we can make key public transport nodes like MRT stations and bus interchanges more user-friendly, more comfortable and more convenient.”
“We will also continue to learn from leading overseas metros and international rail experts to help us stay at the forefront of rail excellence. Over time, as workers upgrade their skills through upskilling and reskilling, they will be able to take on higher value jobs, improve their productivity and earn higher wages. This will also help to further uplift standards across the industry. Moving to buses, we will continue to improve our public bus network, to provide residents with convenient first- and last-mile access to the rail network, and to amenities in their towns. Madam, I launched the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme (BCEP) in July last year to better serve new and existing estates across Singapore. Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked about this. So far, we have introduced 10 new services and enhanced 36 services to improve capacity and connectivity for residents in Yishun, Tengah, Hougang, as well as Mr Gan's residents in Fernvale. 3.45 pm LTA plans to introduce another 15 more bus services in 2025 across different towns, including Punggol, Bidadari, Yew Tee and Tampines. As we deploy more buses, we will also give them priority on more roads to facilitate their movement and improve their reliability. LTA will add about 20 kilometres of new bus lanes this year, and more to follow in the coming years. I would like to assure Mr Dennis Tan and Mr Faisal Manap that, as with all bus services, LTA will continue to monitor demand and ridership and introduce new services or enhancements where necessary, including in Hougang SMC and Aljunied GRC. Madam, we announced some moves last year on taxis and private hire vehicles.”
“As more of our rail assets approach the end of their service life, we will need to invest more to improve life cycle management so that we optimise the lifespan of our assets while making replacements in a timely manner. The enhanced NRFF will allow us to: expand condition monitoring capabilities for more proactive intervention and targeted maintenance; carry out targeted replacements of sub-systems and components to better sustain the useful life of our assets; and scale up the adoption of new technologies to boost maintenance efficiency and effectiveness across the sector. Our operators will continue to be responsible for the maintenance of assets, as per their existing responsibilities under the NRFF. With the additional investments, LTA can better optimise the life cycle management of rail assets. LTA will determine, based on the condition of each asset, whether maintenance needs to be stepped up by our operators so that the asset can continue to run until the end of its service life, or whether the asset needs to be replaced early, or if it can have its service life extended. This will enable LTA and the operators to achieve high reliability standards while keeping a tight control on maintenance and asset replacement costs, which will benefit commuters and taxpayers. Beyond technology and hardware, we will also invest in uplifting the maintenance capabilities of our entire rail sector and enable tripartite partners – LTA, operators, and workers – to achieve higher levels of safety, reliability and resilience. We will strengthen training programmes, provide more opportunities and incentives for workers to upgrade their skills and support rail operators to drive workforce and operations transformation.”
“We have also supported rail sector workers to strengthen their capabilities and improve productivity, through training grants and productivity incentives. Maintaining high standards will become more challenging as our network grows. We have one of the densest networks in the world and with more trains covering longer distances, sustaining a high reliability target of one million MKBF will require even greater effort. There is also a need to manage both newer and older systems and assets. I thank Mr Saktiandi, Mr Melvin Yong, Ms Poh Li San and Ms Yeo Wan Ling for acknowledging the hard work of our workers and recognising their integral role in maintaining a safe and reliable rail network. To further support these efforts, the Government intends to invest up to an additional $1 billion over the next five years to further strengthen our rail capabilities and scale up technology adoption. This will enhance the way we monitor and maintain our assets. The additional funding will also support skills upgrading for our workers to keep pace with these developments. This move builds on the New Rail Financing Framework (NRFF), where LTA handles asset procurement and replacement, and the operators handle asset maintenance. Under this framework, LTA holds our operators accountable for their maintenance of assets. We also have incentives and performance standards in place to ensure that operators deliver good, reliable service. If any operator does not perform, it could face financial penalties and miss out on incentives. This approach has helped us to improve reliability and achieve good outcomes for commuters.”
“Similarly, feasibility studies are ongoing to assess if such a line could supplement the transport network in the west and northwest regions, serving areas, such as Tengah, Bukit Batok, Queensway and Bukit Merah. Based on LTA's preliminary assessments, these two potential rail lines could meet at the Greater Southern Waterfront. Our feasibility studies will therefore look into the possibility of linking the two lines into a single line, for more seamless connectivity and better efficiency for commuters. If studies confirm that these two new MRT lines are feasible, we expect to complete them in phases from the 2040s. It will benefit more than 400,000 households who will be within a 10-minute walk from this new combined line. For our MRT system to remain the backbone of our public transport network, our efforts must go beyond growing the rail network, to ensuring that trains continue to operate safely and reliably for all commuters. This is a challenging task, as our MRT network is an expanding system with many inter-connected elements. The rail network relies on the dedication of 7,000 workers and the commitment of tripartite partners to operate smoothly every day. Over the past decade, we have invested heavily and made significant strides in rail reliability. We set ourselves a high bar – to achieve one million mean kilometres between failure, or MKBF, and have consistently achieved this since 2019. MKBF is a reliability benchmark used by many metros globally, and the one million MKBF benchmark puts us among the top performing metros in the world. Madam, this is the result of strong tripartite commitment. Since 2020, the Government has supported operators to improve maintenance and operation standards.”
“Thank you, Madam. Several Members, such as Mr Ang Wei Neng, Ms Foo Mee Har, Miss Rachel Ong and Mr Leong Mun Wai had previously asked about rail connectivity in the western region. Last year, Senior Minister of State Amy Khor and I provided updates on one of the projects which LTA has been studying – the West Coast Extension (WCE). The Government plans to proceed with the WCE in two phases. The first phase will extend the Jurong Region Line from Pandan Reservoir station to connect with the Cross Island Line at West Coast station by the late 2030s. Under the second phase, our current plan is to further extend the Jurong Region Line from West Coast station to connect with the Circle Line at Kent Ridge station by the early 2040s. This will enhance rail connectivity for residents in the West, and support future developments along the corridor. It will reduce journey times to the city centre by up to 20 minutes. The WCE will also enhance the overall resilience of our rail network, by providing an alternative via the Cross Island Line, and to the city centre via Circle Line. Mr Gan Thiam Poh and Mr Ong Hua Han asked about a new rail line to serve residents in the north and northeast regions. When the Land Transport Master Plan (LTMP) 2040 was released in 2019, we had shared plans for feasibility studies into a new line. This line, tentatively called the Seletar Line, could serve areas, such as Woodlands, Sembawang, Sengkang West, Serangoon North, Whampoa, Kallang, and the Greater Southern Waterfront. I hope it could also go through some parts of Toa Payoh! [Laughter.] Feasibility studies are currently ongoing. We have also identified another corridor for a new rail line, tentatively called the Tengah Line.”
“A few days ago, we opened Hume station on the Downtown Line. By the middle of next year, we will close the loop for the Circle Line, by connecting HarbourFront station to Marina Bay station via three new stations. In the second half of 2026, we will open Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 5 and Downtown Line Stage 3 Extension, linking these two MRT lines. Between 2027 and 2029, we will open parts of the Jurong Region Line, starting with Choa Chu Kang to Boon Lay and Tawas, followed by Tengah to Pandan Reservoir, and eventually connecting to NTU Campus and Jurong Pier. From 2030, we will progressively open our eighth MRT Line, the Cross Island Line, to connect the eastern, western and northeastern regions. Madam, as the Prime Minister said, we are never done building Singapore. Rail projects are major investments. They require careful planning, taking into consideration current and future land-use needs, engineering feasibility and potential environment impact. It also requires political stability, as well as a strong government which can plan long-term, and have the ability and resources to turn these plans into reality, because the plans will span multiple terms of government. In economies that face persistent budget deficits, they would not have the fiscal resources to implement such long-term large-scale projects. With your permission, Madam, may I display a slide on the LED screens?”
“Mdm Chair I thank Members for their questions and suggestions. Over the past 60 years of Singapore's nation-building journey, we worked hard as one people to overcome our challenges and turned them into opportunities. We developed our communications and transport infrastructure and built Singapore as a global transport hub. This remains a key growth strategy, one which strengthens our supply-chain resilience, our connections to the world and our geostrategic relevance. We equipped our companies and workers to succeed. Today, our homegrown companies, such as PSA, Changi Airport Group, Singapore Airlines and SATS are global leaders, bringing Singapore to the world and the world to Singapore. Equally important was how we connected Singaporeans to people and places at home through national projects, such as the MRT system. As Mr Saktiandi Supaat noted, transportation has played a vital role in our nation's development and will continue to do so. At this year's COS, we will build on our strengths to improve the way we live, move, and connect through three areas: first, stronger connectivity; second, safer and more comfortable journeys; third, more opportunities for businesses and workers. Let me begin with how we are building stronger connectivity through the land transport network, which serves about 10 million journeys daily. I will start with our rail network. Our MRT system opened on 7 November 1987 with five stations – Yio Chu Kang, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Braddell and Toa Payoh. From these early foundations, the network has grown significantly, with the North-East Line in 2003, Circle Line in 2009, Downtown Line in 2013 and Thomson-East Coast Line in 2020. We will add new stations or lines every year till the end of this decade.”
“The Ministry of Transport will be sharing more details regarding the review of the point-to-point transport sector at the upcoming Committee of Supply debate and this question will be addressed then.”
“CAG will work closely with tripartite partners, including the NTA and taxi drivers, to engage them directly and regularly on any changes at GTC, to secure their support prior to implementation. This incident shows the importance of tripartism. While there may be disagreements and disputes between stakeholders from time to time, our close tripartite relationship allows these to be resolved via mediation and reconciliation, rather than through conflict and confrontation.”
“The Changi Airport Group (CAG) has engaged Woodlands Transport Service (WTS) since 2008 to manage Changi Airport's Ground Transport Concierge (GTC). The GTC provides passenger booking and driver coordination services for a range of transport options, including six- to seven-seater large-taxis and limousine taxis. This is a commercial arrangement between CAG and WTS. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Land Transport Authority are not involved in the GTC operations. On 1 February 2025, CAG and WTS introduced an eight-seater minibus service, operated by WTS, in response to growing demand by passengers for more transport options using larger vehicles. Unfortunately, a WTS ground manager had allowed WTS minibuses to park in front of the GTC counter, which was meant to be the staging area for the large-taxis. This led to perceptions among some of the drivers of large-taxis that WTS was according preferential treatment to its own minibus service. The arrangement was not approved by CAG. On 13 February 2025, about 50 drivers of large-taxis at GTC met with WTS to express their unhappiness with the minibus service. The National Taxi Association (NTA) alerted CAG to the meeting and both NTA and CAG representatives were present on the ground to engage the drivers. After hearing the drivers' concerns, CAG immediately suspended the minibus service. Thanks to the support from the NTA and driver association leaders, who had stepped in to manage the situation, there was no disruption to the taxi services at Changi Airport. Going forward, CAG has strengthened its oversight of WTS operations at GTC. WTS has also removed the ground manager from his role.”
“Our investment entities make professional investment decisions with a long-term orientation. They invest in assets anchored to underlying economic fundamentals and with the potential for longer-term value increase. Cryptocurrencies do not fit this profile. They are highly speculative instruments, prone to extreme price volatility and lack intrinsic value derived from cash flows, earnings or tangible assets.”
“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, late-night bus services were provided on Fridays, Saturdays and the eves of public holidays. Ridership for these services was very low compared to regular bus services, with an average of about 10 passengers per trip. The Land Transport Authority is open to proposals from private operators who wish to provide after-hours bus services to meet late-night travel demand on a commercial basis, to complement existing options provided by the point-to-point transport sector.”
“Mr Speaker, I move, "That Parliament doth agree with the Committee on the said resolutions." [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolutions accordingly agreed to. (proc text)]”
“I thank the Member for her question. We have received related questions for the 26 February 2025 Parliament Sitting and had addressed it then. [Please refer to "Stakeholders' Feedback on Safety of Transporting Workers on Back of Lorries and Suggestions to Ban This", Official Report, 26 February 2025, Vol 95, Issue 153, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“The average number of workers injured when being transported on the back of a lorry fell by more than 25% from 215 between 2015 and 2019, to 161 between 2020 and 2024. Over the last 10 years, there was an average of one fatality transported on the back of a lorry per year. We do not track whether the workers involved in these accidents hold Work Permits or S Passes. The nationality of the workers or they pass they hold is not the focus because our goal is to improve safety for all workers.”
“The parties involved are assessing the commercial viability of a potential ferry service between Puteri Harbour and Tuas.”
“The requested information on Stamp Duties (SD) spans over two decades and we are unable to provide the series of data over such a long time. A property sale transaction may involve three types of SDs: Seller's Stamp Duty on the seller's side; Buyer's Stamp Duty; and Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) on the buyer's side. ABSD applies to residential properties only. The proportions of SD from the three property types, the Housing and Development Board, private residential and non-residential, for 2019 and 2024 are shown in Table 1 below. We have provided 2019 for comparison instead, as 2020 was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had impacted the property market and SD revenue. For tax purposes, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore does not differentiate stamp duties contributed from private non-landed and landed residential properties.”
“The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Singapore Bus Services Transit (SBST) started on a major renewal project for the North East Line (NEL) in 2019, to refurbish its 25 first-generation trains, as well as to upgrade key components in the track, power, signalling and platform screen door (PSD) systems. Works were originally scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2024. LTA and SBST completed the planned upgrading works for the track, power, signalling and PSD systems in 2021. As the Ministry of Transport (MOT) had explained to the Member in 2022 via a reply to his Parliamentary Question, the train refurbishment programme was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [Please refer to "Status of Renewal and Enhancement Work Scheduled for North East Line", Official Report, 4 April 2022, Vol 95, Issue 60, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.] As of January 2025, 16 of the 25 first-generation trains have undergone refurbishment and have been put into passenger service. As stated on the MOT and LTA's websites, the remaining nine trains will be progressively put into service by the first quarter of 2026, after they have been refurbished. These upgrades aim to provide our commuters with smoother and more reliable journeys. As part of renewal works, electrical and mechanical components in the track, power, signalling and PSD systems have been replaced. The first-generation trains are being refreshed with updated interior fittings, such as seats, panels and flooring, as well as upgraded air-conditioning, ventilation and passenger information systems. Condition monitoring systems will also be installed on the trains to better monitor train performance and improve maintenance planning.”
“Mr Chairman, I thank Ms He for her clarification. I think we are on the same page. The Government also believes that because we are asking businesses to support increasing the wages of their low-wage workers and to hire low-wage workers and increase their pay, and that this is an important part of our social compact, that it is correct for us to co-fund some of the cost increases. The approach that we want to take, whether on this scheme or on many other schemes, is that when we want to do something that will be good for Singapore and Singaporeans, we want to do it together with our stakeholders. And this is also in line, I think, with the spirit of Forward SG.”
“Mr Chairman, first, I want to just reiterate what I said in my main reply earlier. I said all our entities publish information on their portfolio returns. So, this would include Temasek, MAS and GIC. And then, I also explained that it is only the size of GIC's assets under management that remains undisclosed, because that would then reveal the size of our reserves, and I note that Mr Chua does not disagree with me on that. This is just to respond to Mr Chua's question.”
“It is difficult to say we will end it if the following boxes are checked because we have to look at the situation at that time. There are a lot of uncertainties in our operating environment globally and the challenges that our companies will face; it is something which we do need to consult with our tripartite partners before making that decision. But I also do not fully agree, Mr Chairman, with Ms He's framing that just because we are providing this support for our SMEs, to help them to co-fund, not fully fund, but to co-fund some of the cost increases for low-wage workers earning a higher income, that they will then not want to improve productivity. I do not think that is the way the businesses would respond to the various schemes and incentives.”
“Mr Chairman, I think the Prime Minister had already explained in his round-up speech about how productivity and wages, over time, do move in tandem. And on that point, the Prime Minister had already explained very thoroughly and I would not repeat. But I just wanted to go back to my response to Ms He earlier that we do not disagree that we need to look at how to improve productivity of firms. And that is why we do have many schemes in place to help our companies, whether is it SMEs or larger companies, or as Mr Neil Parekh suggested, how do we encourage more SMEs to work closely with the larger companies, whether it is a large local enterprise or a multinational enterprise. And these are all different ways in which we will continue to work on with our tripartite partners to look at how we can improve productivity. But specifically, on the PWCS, this is something that is aimed at helping employers when they increase the salaries of their low-wage workers. So, it is not a broad-based subsidy, as I explained earlier. But it is for the Government to co-share some of the cost increases that employers would otherwise have to face when they are trying to help their low-wage workers to earn a higher salary. I hope this is in line with what Ms He said. I said earlier in my main reply to her that I am sure she is not suggesting that we should not support SMEs. I would like to seek a clarification from Ms He that she will support that objective, that we do want to support our employers, we do want to support our companies, especially our SMEs, when they are trying to do what is good for our low-wage workers to strengthen our social compact. Mr Chairman, on the decision to extend or not to extend the PWCS, we will make that decision closer to 2026 when this scheme is due to cease.”
“Madam, I mentioned it in my reply earlier that Members are able to refer their residents to MAS if they require further assistance. We will have to look at these on a case-by-case basis, because it really depends on the risk of that particular appellant. I did explain, in my main reply earlier, that there are valid situations, and I hope Ms Poa will agree with me that we need to strike that balance between providing the convenience for the individual and the company versus protecting the wider public.”
“Madam, the EQDP is a programme that we will start. We will assess the outcomes before we decide on whether there will be further moves. As many industry players have noted, this is a good start. It will help to develop our local fund management industry. As to the specifics of how we design it, I think MAS has explained it. We do want to set a focus on the local equities market, for these funds to focus on the local equities market. Not to just invest in the index stocks, because those are already quite well-researched and well-traded, but to look for opportunities in other stocks as well – the mid-caps and the smaller companies with potential. But all this, as I mentioned in my main reply, would have to be done commercially, because at the end of the day, you still want to balance that objective of having investment returns with a development objective. GEMS. Yes, I think I mentioned this or the Review Group mentioned this in our announcement as well. We will also look at how we can support the research ecosystem. This is an important part of the effort to be able to raise awareness amongst investors and also to have more information about the companies be made known.”
“As of January 2025, there are 313 electric motorcycles registered in Singapore, comprising 0.2% of the total motorcycle population. Electric motorcycles with fixed batteries can charge at registered electric vehicle charging points deployed across Singapore, including the Housing and Development Board carparks. We do not allow direct charging from wall sockets without any intermediary power management unit as this increases the risk of fires. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working with the industry to facilitate safe modes of charging electric motorcycle models with detachable batteries, including Battery Charge and Swap Stations (BCSS) and controlled off-board charging environments. To date, LTA has facilitated the entry of two players in Singapore offering BCSS for electric motorcycles. The Ministry of Transport/LTA will continue to work with the industry to explore charging solutions that meet our local needs, with safety being a key consideration.”
“Service 14 was amended in 2018 to provide a direct connection to Buona Vista MRT for residents of new Build-To-Order flat developments along Commonwealth Avenue West, such as Ghim Moh Edge and Ghim Moh Valley. This is a direct connection that was not available prior to the service amendment. Residents living near Dover Road and Dover Avenue are served by bus services 33, 74, 166 and 196, which continue to ply those roads. These bus services connect residents to Buona Vista and Dover MRT stations, as well as to Service 14 via a single transfer. As part of the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme, more trips have been added to Service 33.”