Solar tech the way to go, says Khaw, as 80 more HDB blocks get fitted with panels Published on Jan 24, 2013 1:00 PM Solar panels at the Marina Barrage are made of mono-crystalline silicon. This type of solar panel has the highest efficiency. -- PHOTO: PUB By Daryl Chin ANOTHER 80 public housing blocks in eco-town Punggol will be fitted with solar panels to harness energy from the sun, said the Housing Board on Thursday. This will be done by private company Sunseap, which outbidded 12 other contractors in an open tender. HDB will offset a portion of the start-up costs - up to 30 per cent - and in turn, the town council will get a discount of up to five per cent off the retail electricity tariff rate. The company takes care of the subsequent operational and maintenance costs. In 2011, HDB also awarded Sunseap to power 45 blocks in Punggol at a cost of $11 million.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visits the Istana Published on Jan 25, 2013 5:30 AM Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands shakes hands with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday, Jan 24, 2013, at the Istana in Singapore during her official four-day state visit to the country. -- PHOTO: AP http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/bea24138e.jpg Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (left), chats with Singapore's President Tony Tan after a welcoming ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Jan 24, 2013. Queen Beatrix is on a four-day state visit in Singapore. -- PHOTO: AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/bea24137e.jpg (Left to right) Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Singapore's President Tony Tan, first lady Mary Tan, and Princess Maxima of the Netherlands pose for group photo after a welcoming ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Jan 24, 2013. Queen Beatrix is on a four-day state visit to Singapore. -- PHOTO: AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/sites/straitstimes.com/files/bea241310e.jpg Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, walks in front of Singaporean President Tony Tan, as she reviews the guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony at the Istana in Singapore on Jan 24, 2013. Queen Beatrix is on a four-day state visit in Singapore. -- PHOTO: AFP By Himaya Quasem Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands began her first official trip to Singapore with a visit to the Istana to meet President Tony Tan and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Wearing a patterned blue skirt and blouse with matching hat, the 74-year-old monarch strolled past white-uniformed guards during a welcome ceremony at the President’s official residence yesterday morning.
With the defeat of PAP in by election, expect more government policies that will try to keep property prices stable but I wonder how well they can do it when there are floods of cheap money from many countries. Also expecting the government to be more stringent in immigration policies. This will affect the table tennis and badminton imported talent. I think there will be less pursuit of Olympic gold.
Yes, it is hoped that property prices and the relatively high inflation rate will subside with recent government policies, but as you said the high liquidity all round makes an open economy like Singapore a big challenge. Indeed the employment of foreign workers is on the decline but Singapore cannot totally avoid foreign workers, especially the high-value added ones, if it wants to continue to grow. On the sporting front, foreign talents who can help Singapore raise standards, are also limited. One reason for this is that the exporting countries have been doing relatively well economically and therefore their workers' incomes have risen in general. The other is that Singapore is making an attempt to grow its own talent pool, although I think it is difficult as our young people can make better money elsewhere without having to sweat for long hours in training. Not unless they are really talented to be able to compete internationally in the highly paying sports jobs like football, tennis, basketball, golf, etc. But sports will continue to be an important pillar of the Singapore society because of its positive contribution to the nation and economy. Winning international competitions can help gel the country and its people as one nation and an all-rounded worker have less medical problems.
Singapore scientists identify mechanisms that lead to gastric cancers Published on Jan 28, 2013 10:44 AM Scientists at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) headed a study that discovered four processes by which gastric cancer is formed. -- ST PHOTO : JAMES CROUCHER By Chia Yan Min Scientists at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) headed a study that discovered four processes by which gastric cancer is formed. GIS scientists have identified four distinct processes that cause mutations in gastric cancer. The discovery of these processes provides clues to the formation of gastric cancers, paving the way for diagnostics and targeted therapy. Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, claiming almost 750,000 lives annually of which 60 percent of those affected are Asians. The findings have been published online in the December 2012 issue of biological research journal "Genome Biology".
Nanyang Business School takes 32nd spot in world's MBA rankings By Tan Qiuyi | Posted: 28 January 2013 0802 hrs SINGAPORE: Nanyang Business School (NBS) is now ranked 32nd in the Financial Times' 2013 ranking of the world's MBA programmes, up two spots from last year. The school's Nanyang Master of Business Administration programme is ranked sixth within the Asia Pacific. The annual survey ranks the top 100 business schools from around the world, based on audited data from the schools themselves and from the class who graduated three years ago. NBS admits about 80 students to its full-time MBA programme every year, with another 40 taking the course on a part-time basis. It is offering a new Nanyang MBA curriculum in July with a sharper focus on leadership development and industry application in the Asian context. The new course can be completed in 12 months, instead of the usual 16. - CNA/de Nanyang Business School at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
A*STAR scientist wins Singapore Challenge at Global Young Scientists Summit By Alice Chia | Posted: 25 January 2013 2205 hrs SINGAPORE: A research scientist at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has won the Singapore Challenge medallion at the inaugural Global Young Scientists Summit@one-north (GYSS). Dr Lynette Cheah was presented with a medallion by President Tony Tan and awarded a prize of US$100,000 to pursue her research interests. She submitted a proposal on building a transportation network that helps smoothen traffic flow. Part of her proposal involves taxi and car commuters sharing rides, and bus and train frequencies would be automatically adjusted. The theme of the Singapore Challenge is "Innovations for Future Cities" - where scientists presented ground-breaking ideas to address sustainability challenges. More than 70 proposals were received. President Tony Tan said: "The Singapore Challenge exemplifies how scientific communities can partner governments and industries across countries to make societal impact. It is good for science and good for society when researchers build networks and collaborate openly to translate research outcomes for a better world." - CNA/de
NTU partners Holland's Wageningen University in food science research Posted: 25 January 2013 1244 hrs SINGAPORE: Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is working with a leading research centre of Wageningen University from the Netherlands in food science and technology. Both sides are looking into new undergraduate modules. NTU aims to develop full-fledged programmes in this field at the undergraduate and Master's level, and involve more schools and departments from both universities. This will help to build a critical mass of trained manpower for the food industry, locally and regionally. On the research front, NTU and Wageningen University are expected to focus on projects such as converting agricultural raw materials to high-value food ingredients, as well as sustainable food production including conversion of waste to food supplements. The agreement providing for their partnership was signed on Friday by NTU's president Professor Bertil Andersson and Wageningen University's president Dr Aalt Dijkhuizen. Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, who was at NTU as part of her official visit to Singapore, was also present. - CNA/fa (L to R) NTU President Professor Bertil Andersson briefs Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, Princess Maxima of The Netherlands and The Prince of Orange about the university. (Photo: NTU
Four who shine the brightest Laurentia, Feng, Shayna and Shahril star in Singapore's best sporting year Published on Jan 26, 2013 in The Straits Times By Marc Lim Sports Editor EIGHT world crowns, four Asian champions, two Olympic medals, two Paralympic medals and the right to be called kings of Asean. Last year will go down as arguably the greatest in Singapore's sporting history. From 15-year-old Yukie Yokoyama winning the team and individual titles at the Optimist World Championships, to 42-year-old Aleksandar Duric winning the Asean Football Federation Cup with the Lions, the national flag was raised, on average, at least once a month in honour of a Singapore champion. In fact, at The Straits Times sports desk, there was hardly a dull moment in 2012. Yet while the bumper crop of champions made for interesting stories, it also made our task harder when it came to deciding the nominees for The Straits Times Athlete of the Year Award for 2012. All of us at the desk were free to choose our top picks. The heroic displays of table tennis player Feng Tianwei and equestrian Laurentia Tan at the Olympics and Paralympics - both were double medallists - made them easy choices. In their sport, the stage just does not get any bigger. But strong cases were also made for those who did not make the podium. The efforts of gymnast Lim Heem Wei and canoeist Geraldine Lee (both became the first Singaporeans in their sport to qualify for the Olympics) did not go unnoticed. But in the end, there was room only for four. Although the young world beaters from wushu and sailing did their nation proud, they lost out as their accomplishments came at the youth level. It was a tough fight between silat world champion Muhammad Shakir Juanda and world champion bowler Shayna Ng. But given that bowling is a more universal sport than silat, we felt Ng's feat was the more difficult to achieve. And while the Asean football crown is a regional title, it was impossible to ignore the year that Shahril Ishak had. For consistency, he had few equals. As captain of the LionsXII, his goals helped bring the Malaysia Cup fever back to Singapore after 17 years. As skipper of the national team, he led the Lions to a record fourth AFF Cup. Selecting the winner will be an even more tricky task. Fortunately, an expert panel of seasoned sports officials and athletes will help us pick a worthy champion. To salute the final four, The Straits Times, in partnership with award sponsor 100Plus, will profile each nominee in the Sport pages from next week. So who will be crowned the ST Athlete of the Year for 2012? All will be revealed on Feb 26. marclim@sph.com.sg Winners of the readers' contest to name the nominees will be revealed next week
Singapore's population could hit 6.9m by 2030, with a Singaporean core Published on Jan 29, 2013 12:00 PM By 2030, Singapore's population is projected to reach 6.5 to 6.9 million based on a government White Paper released on Tuesday. -- ST PHOTO: RAJENDRAN NADARAJAN By Jessica Cheam By 2030, Singapore's population is projected to reach 6.5 to 6.9 million based on a government White Paper released on Tuesday. This will comprise a resident population of 4.2 to 4.4 million, of which 3.6 to 3.8 million are citizens and the rest Permanent Residents. Non-residents will make up about 2.3 to 2.5 million by then. To keep Singapore's citizen population from shrinking, Singapore will need 15,000 to 25,000 new citizens each year, assuming the current total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.2. About 30,000 new Permanent Residents (PR) is needed to keep the PR population stable at 500,000 to 600,000.
Two-thirds of Singaporeans in white-collar jobs by 2030 Published on Jan 29, 2013 12:00 PM Two thirds of Singaporeans will hold white-collar PMET jobs by 2030, up from half the workforce currently, a new population White Paper has projected. -- ST PHOTO: MALCOLM MACLEOD By Jessica Cheam Two thirds of Singaporeans will hold white-collar PMET jobs by 2030, up from half the workforce currently, a new population White Paper has projected. Growth rates of 3 to 5 per cent may be achieved in this decade, but is likely to be more modest at 2 to 3 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030, said the new study by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD). To ensure there are enough good jobs to go around, Singapore needs to innovate and restructure its industries even as it improves on its productivity, said NPTD. In its widely-anticipated White Paper, which sets out Singapore's population and immigration policies for the future, the NPTD noted that the citizen workforce will age and plateau beyond 2020. The paper recommends a calibrated inflow of foreign workers to complement the Singaporean workforce. As citizen workforce growth slows, the total workforce growth is also projected to slow to 1 to 2 per cent - half the average of the past 30 years. Given this workforce growth rate, and if Singapore achieves the stretch target of 2 to 3 per cent productivity growth per year in this decade, the country can get 3 to 5 per cent GDP growth on average up to 2020. From 2020 to 2030, with workforce growth likely at 1 per cent and productivity growth rates at 1 to 2 per cent per year, Singapore will see more modest GDP growth of 2 to 3 per cent per year.
Land set aside to build 700,000 more homes by 2030 Published on Jan 29, 2013 12:00 PM Singapore's planners have set aside land for 700,000 more homes to be built by 2030, in anticipation of a 6.9 million population by then. -- ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM By Jessica Cheam Singapore's planners have set aside land for 700,000 more homes to be built by 2030, in anticipation of a 6.9 million population by then. The National Population and Talent Division said on Tuesday that the government has done its long-term planning to accommodate the bigger population. The rail network is set to double to 360km, and new towns will be developed even while more green spaces are built. In the nearer term, it is ramping up infrastructure developments to support a population of 5.8 million to 6 million in 2020, while also tackling the infrastructure bottlenecks experienced today. Some steps it has taken include adding 800 new buses over the next five years, building 110,000 more public housing units and 90,000 private homes by 2016, and adding 4,100 new hospital beds by 2020. The government will continue to explore new technologies and innovative solutions to optimise Singapore's land use beyond 2030, said the NPTD. It released these figures in its White Paper on Tuesday, which sets out Singapore's population and immigration policies for the future. More details on Singapore's land use planning is set to be released later this week.
SIT holds groundbreaking for satellite campus at Republic Polytechnic Published on Jan 29, 2013 5:58 PM By Amelia Teng The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) held its fifth and final groundbreaking ceremony Monday at Republic Polytechnic (RP) for its satellite campuses. It also announced its first degree programme to be conducted at RP which will be a computing science course in partnership with the University of Glasgow. The course, which will cater to the demand for workers in the computing science industry, will start in September this year. The nine-storey building in Woodlands will house 660 students, and its first intake of students will share RP's facilities until the building is completed in 2014. The SIT has a satellite campus at all five polytechnics.
NTU's new centre to engineer eye-disease treatments Published on Jan 29, 2013 12:46 PM By Grace Chua A new centre at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has developed a slow-release drug that can be injected to treat the eye disease glaucoma. Researchers at the Ocular Therapeutic Engineering Centre, which officially opened on Tuesday, wrapped an existing anti-glaucoma drug in tiny nanocapsules which can be injected painlessly into the eye's surface. A single injection can deliver drugs for up to three months, and these are expected to work better than current treatments, where the same drug is applied as eyedrops that often flow out of the eye and are hard for patients to remember to apply. Now, human trials of the technology are about to begin. The centre will also develop technologies to treat other eye conditions like cataracts and retinal diseases.
12,000 residents have taken part so far in Our Singapore Conversation Citizen Dialogue Session - "Our Singapore Conversation" which was held at NLB, with Minister Heng Swee Keat and Acting Minister Tan Chuan-Jin in attendance..Photo: Ernest Chua. 13 Oct 2012. 4 hours 16 min ago SINGAPORE — Over 12,000 residents have so far taken part in 155 sessions of the Our Singapore Conversation between September 2012 to January 2013. They were organised by the People’s Association (PA) and Grassroots Organisations (GROs) at various locations in the heartland. In a statement, PA said at the sessions, residents discussed about healthcare, elderly issues, education, social values and governance. Residents comprising community partners, district councillors, youths and seniors, including new citizens and permanent residents came together and shared their hopes and concerns and expressed their views on their ideal Singapore. A wrap-up session with over 100 grassroots leaders will be held on Thursday. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and PA’s Deputy Chairman, Lim Swee Say and Our Singapore Conversation Chairman and Education Minister, Heng Swee Keat, will be present. Five presenters will highlight the aspirations shared by their residents at various dialogue sessions in the past four months. The PA and the grassroots organisations plan to organise more sessions to engage some 1,000 residents from February to March this year. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
Govt unveils plans for population growth By Ashley Chia 6 hours 50 min ago SINGAPORE — By 2020, the Republic’s total population could range between 5.8 million and 6 million. And come 2030, the figure could rise to be between 6.5 million and 6.9 million. Singapore’s total population now stands at 5.31 million with citizens and PRs making up 3.82 million, according to figures as at June last year. These were the possible population trajectories released today as part of the Population White Paper by the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD). These projections may change, depending on changes to birth rates, life expectancy and social and economic factors. The White Paper outlines the Government’s policies to maintain a strong “Singaporean core” in the population, create good jobs and opportunities for citizens and build a high quality living environment. With the Government taking in between 15,000 and 25,000 new citizens and 30,000 Permanent Residents each year — to prevent the citizen population from shrinking — it is estimated that the resident population could reach up to 4.1 million in 2020, with citizens making up 3.5 million to 3.6 million. In 2030, the resident population, which includes PRs, is projected to be between 4.2 million to 4.4 million. Citizens will make up 3.6 million to 3.8 million. The White Paper also projected that come 2030, two thirds of Singaporeans are expected to be working in Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians jobs, compared to just half of the population today. Hence foreign workers are needed to “supplement” the workforce, and ensure the workforce structure has a full range of skills, backgrounds and experiences to serve economic, social and infrastructure needs. To alleviate the strains Singaporeans face today and support the projected population of about 6 million, efforts to ramp up infrastructure developments, such as transport networks, housing and access to healthcare, are underway and will be completed by 2020. By 2016, there will be 110,000 new public housing units and 90,000 new private units. Some 4,100 new hospital beds will also be available then. The Government is also planning and investing in infrastructure ahead of demand. This includes setting aside land for 700,000 more homes, and planning for more jobs, green spaces, recreational and sports facilities to be located nearer to residential areas like Jurong Lake District, Paya Lebar Central and One North. The rail network will also double to 360 km, which will put eight in 10 homes within a 10-minute walk from a train station. The Population White Paper can be read online at http://www.population.sg/
We did not have 20/20 foresight, says PM Lee Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. TODAY File Photo Uncertainties due to economic cycles and foreign worker inflow led to policy misstep By Neo Chai Chin 15 hours 28 sec ago SINGAPORE — The question was whether Singaporeans would benefit from a public hearing on how public infrastructure came to lag behind population growth. Posed yesterday at an Institute of Policy Studies conference on governance, it prompted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to provide the most detailed explanation yet on the policy misstep, which has been a hot-button issue since it first surfaced in 2009. “You don’t need a commission or an inquiry to find out, I can tell you how,” he responded to audience member Leon Perera, a business consultant who spoke in his personal capacity. “It happened because we didn’t have 20/20 foresight,” said Mr Lee, citing uncertainties wrought by economic cycles and foreign worker inflow in the last decade. In retrospect, more could have been done to get ready for a larger population, and the Government will try to do better going forward and create a greater buffer in its planning, the Prime Minister added. The Government will release its population White Paper today, which will make “a guess” on the parameters for jobs, housing, transport and infrastructure to ensure good quality of life for Singaporeans, said Mr Lee. Mr Lee recounted that Singapore’s economy ran into recession in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, and slow growth led to foreign workers heading home “in some numbers”, he said. Housing prices went down and the Government did not know how long the downturn would last, he added. Then by 2005 to 2006, things began to look up. “We decided, I decided, that we should try and make up for lost time, because you want the economy to grow, you want Singapore to make progress, and you don’t know how long the sun is going to shine,” he told an audience of academics, and business and civil society representatives at the Shangri-La Hotel. “As it turned out, the sun remained shining for longer than we expected. So the population grew faster than we expected, our infrastructure didn’t keep up. “Could we have predicted that we would have five years where the economy would grow brilliantly and our population would increase so rapidly? I don’t think we could easily have said that.” He added that it would have been “very risky” to turn away extra jobs created and opportunities like the integrated resorts. So the Government forged ahead, only to have the “strains” show up “quite suddenly”. In 2009, the Jobs Credit Scheme was introduced and the Republic recovered more quickly than expected from the global financial crisis. Fewer foreign workers left for home than expected. The housing price index, which had remained flat for months, suddenly shot up in June that year. By August, the Government was thinking of property cooling measures, said Mr Lee. On whether policies could be finetuned along the way, Mr Lee said it was not possible, given uncertainties in a volatile world. Changes can happen in the span of weeks – like how the property market changed in 2009 – or a year. But to ramp up the housing programme and to plan and build a train network takes five to 10 years, he noted. “You have to make a stand on it, you have to make your best guess, build in some safety factor and even then, it may turn out differently than you had planned,” he said. In a wide-ranging dialogue, Mr Lee was also asked about the difference between being popular and being populist, and whether the Government could take more steps in healthcare and transport policies to reinforce that it was on the side of the people. Mr Lee said being populist means taking action that is pleasing but may be harmful to the masses. Popular policies could please the masses, but also serve to do good. “I think what we are trying to do as a Government is to try and package our policies so that they can be popular, but at the same time they can be beneficial,” he said. He added that Our Singapore Conversation, the ongoing national dialogue, seeks to come up with new ideas on how to achieve “good objectives” without running into problems commonly encountered in the rest of the world. He said the right mechanisms have to be used and “you want to do it in such a way that people do not feel whenever you have a problem, it’s the Government which has to be blamed”.
Record 51 million passengers for Changi Airport in 2012 Published on Jan 31, 2013 2:39 PM Passengers at the transit area of Changi Airport's Terminal 3. The airport set a new record in passenger traffic last year, crossing the 50 million passenger movements mark for the first time in its 31-year history. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN By Royston Sim Changi Airport set a new record in passenger traffic last year, crossing the 50 million passenger movements mark for the first time in its 31-year history. Passenger traffic for 2012 totalled 51.2 million, an increase of 10 per cent over 2011. Last December, Changi registered a record 4.92 million passenger movements. It also saw a new daily record on Dec 22, with 180,400 passengers passing through in 24 hours. Flight movements grew by 7.6 per cent to 324,700, while cargo volumes declined 3.2 per cent to 1.81 million tonnes compared to 2011. As of Jan 1, Changi Airport has been handling more than 6,500 weekly scheduled flights with 110 airlines connecting Singapore to 240 cities in 60 countries around the world. In a media release, Changi Airport Group (CAG) chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said: "2012 was indeed a good year for us...In the near term, Changi Airport's performance will depend largely on how quickly markets recover from the slowdown."
Two new commercial belts to bring jobs closer to homes By Hetty Musfirah | Posted: 31 January 2013 1246 hrs SINGAPORE: Two new commercial belts will be developed to locate more jobs nearer to homes. It is also part of efforts to ease congestion to the city centre and facilitate greater use of public transport. The target is for public transport to make up 75 per cent of all journeys, compared to the current 60 per cent. Roads take up 12 per cent of Singapore's land space. And given a limited land supply, there are constraints to build more roads and other facilities for private transport. To get more people to choose public transport, extensive plans have already been announced to ramp up capacity on buses and trains. But as Singapore's population continues to grow, changing travel patterns will also be key. Currently, major employment centres are located in the West and in the city. And there's high travel demand to these areas during morning peak hours, as housing towns are in the North and East. So the new commercial belts are expected to help spread the load better. There will be an innovation corridor in the North in 10 to 15 years' time. It will include the Woodlands Regional Centre, Sembawang, the future Seletar Regional Centre and Punggol, and act as a major employment node for people living in the North and North-east. There will also be more land for new business activities when existing shipyard facilities in Sembawang are phased out. And in the South, there will be a new waterfront city for more commercial and housing developments. It will extend from Marina Bay along the waterfront from Keppel, through Telok Blangah to Pasir Panjang Terminal. Experts say for decentralisation to work, the type of jobs within the commercial belts must be attractive enough. Dr Wong Tai Chee, Urban Geography & Planning at the National Institute of Education, said: "The scope, the scale and quality of services to be provided, to be developed in the regional decentralised centres, must be substantial - big enough to attract enough businesses. Otherwise, the economies of scale won't be big enough to attract business, that will be a failure. "That will be a serious matter to look into. If you can cut down the commuting time and also the commuting distance, and make jobs more available near homes for at least a certain proportion of the population, this will be good. Economically, it will also help to enhance the land values of the areas in the North and South corridors." There should also be better transport links. Associate Professor Gopinath Menon, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, said: "Good integration, so if people want to change from train to bus, bus to train, train to taxi, it should be very convenient, because people do not like transfers, it takes time so that's the most important thing, make it very convenient and also attractive." To facilitate this, there are plans to introduce community buses which operate during specific period of the day. By 2030, travelling to the new commercial belts will be enhanced with the new Cross Island Line and the Thomson Line. Drivers can also make use of the new North-South Expressway. To better optimise use of roads, the reversible flow scheme may also be introduced on certain expressways so that there will be more lanes to cater to the heavier traffic flow during peak periods. - CNA/ck/de
Land to be reclaimed, converted to support 6.9 million population [ Punggol Town will be developed further, making it eventually one of the largest HDB towns. Photo: HDB By Tan Weizhen 31 January SINGAPORE — To support Singapore’s expanded population of up to 6.9 million by 2030, more land will be freed up for new homes, offices and other infrastructure. This will be done by reclaiming and converting existing land, as well as creating office areas nearer to homes. According to a paper on land use planning issued today by the Ministry of National Development (MND) — to complement the Population White Paper released on Monday — three new towns will also be developed in Bidadari, Tampines North and Tengah. New housing estates will also be added at the former Bukit Turf Club, Kallang Riverside, Keppel and Bukit Brown areas. Punggol Town will be developed further, making it eventually one of the largest HDB towns, with new homes slated for existing estates across Singapore. According to the MND, the bulk of land that can be reclaimed, if needed, is at Pulau Tekong and Tuas. Plans to convert existing areas such as military training areas, and some golf courses – once their leases end — are also in the pipeline. One key strategy is to move offices closer to homes, so residents do not have to travel so much. To that end, commercial nodes are planned island-wide – in the north, the south, Jurong Lake District, one-north, and Paya Lebar Central. In the paper, the ministry said that a “North Coast Innovation Corridor” and a “Southern Waterfront City” will be created. The former, spanning from Woodlands Regional Centre, Sembwang and Punggol, will be slated for industries in the fields of technology, such as the Seletar Aerospace Park. The southern waterfront city will extend from Marina Bay, through Telok Blangah to Pasir Panjang Terminal. This will be redeveloped for commerical and housing areas. Existing container-port operations — the City Terminals and Pasir Panjang Terminal — will be moved to Tuas Port. The authority also addressed issues of liveability within a more dense city. More greenery, such as rooftop greenery, will be introduced within estates, and there will be more park connectors. It reiterated that the transport network is being ramped up to support the increased population. In addition, the feasibility of a “reversible flow” scheme along certain expressways is being studied, where the traffic flow is heavy in one direction during morning peak hours, and in the opposite direction in the evenings. More rail lines will be built, with a rail density that is comparable to London. Eight in ten homes will be within a ten-minute walk from a train station.
