Distinguished guests

Colleagues at URA

Limited Land, Infinite Aspirations

1 Singapore is a small country. Everyone knows that. But, we have never allowed our small size to circumscribe our growth. Indeed, over the last 40 years, given our limited land space, we have depended on careful long-term planning to chart how we needed to grow as a nation, and the quality of life that we wanted as a people. Our ability to plan for the longer term and to follow through in the implementation of these plans have helped to bring us to where we are today – an economically vibrant city that is also one of the most liveable cities in Asia. We are indeed a city built on planning.

2 Now, standing at the threshold of the next 40 years, we are once again gazing into the future and determining the type of Singapore we and our children should live in. The Singapore economy is growing strongly. Record number of jobs is being created. The stock market is at an all-time high. The property market is booming. It is easy, in times like these, to get carried away by greed and complacency. It is precisely at these times that we should spend some time to cast our minds further, to gaze over the horizon, focus on the future, and consider the longer term issues that Singapore will be facing.

3 Globally, our environment is changing rapidly, and often unpredictably. With globalisation, countries co-operate to prosper together, but also compete more intensely. In Asia, the rise of China and India provide twin engines of growth that we can leverage on. But like the giants that they are, they can also pose threats to the competitiveness of small countries. Internally, our demographics, aspirations, and values are changing. What quality of life do we hope to create for Singaporeans in the future? How can we capitalise on the economic opportunities and minimise the threats to sustain our economic growth? How can we continue to meet the needs of future generations?

Planning for Greater Economic Activities and a Larger Population

4 Our long-term planning framework puts us in good stead to develop in a sustainable manner. The Concept Plan maps out the vision for Singapore in the next 40 to 50 years in terms of strategic directions for land use and transportation. It is reviewed every 10 years, taking into account changing economic and population trends and land use needs to guide Singapore’s physical growth. The Concept Plan ensures that we use our land resource efficiently and effectively, so that our quality of life improves even as we develop.

5 The Concept Plan was last reviewed in 2001. At that time, we adopted a long-term population parameter of 5.5 million as a basis for land use and transportation planning. The Ministry of National Development (MND), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), and various government agencies have recently completed a mid-term review of the Concept Plan, taking into account recent population trends and the strong economic prospects in future. At the time of the Concept Plan 2001 review, our population was around 3.9 million and our long-term population parameter was 5.5 million. Today, our population is close to 4.5 million. We have therefore revised the long-term population parameter to 6.5 million. Bear in mind that this is not a target population figure. It is a planning parameter, which takes into account current demographic trends and population policy. It is a realistic number for the planners to base their projections and their planning methodology on, to ensure that we are ready for future growth opportunities.

6 We also need to cater to our economic needs. Moving forward, the prospects for economic growth are strong. There are plenty of investment opportunities in the high value-added industries, the financial and business services sector, and the tourism sector. We can expect more jobs to be created over the next few years. We need to prepare ahead and ensure we have sufficient land and infrastructure ready to attract investments and support economic growth.

Increase in Land Needs

7 In the area of manufacturing, most of the land demand will come from high value-added industries such as petro-chemicals, wafer fab and pharmaceuticals. These industries take up a lot of land due to the nature of their production processes and their specific plant layouts.

8 New growth sectors will also require more land. For instance, Singapore’s aerospace industry has grown by more than 12% annually for the last 15 years. It will require a new aerospace hub near the Seletar Airport in future. The medical travel industry has also been expanding rapidly. The number of foreign patients who came here to seek medical treatment jumped from about 200,000 in 2002 to 374,000 in 2005. Singapore hopes to attract a million foreign patients per year by 2012. To gear up for the expansion in foreign patients to Singapore, more land will have to be set aside for the development of private hospitals and medical suites.

9 For the tourism sector, Singapore aims to double the number of visitors to 17 million and triple tourism receipts by 2015. To achieve this, we need to set aside land for large tourism projects and hotels.

10 To be a truly world-class trading and transportation hub, we must continue to enhance and upgrade our air and sea ports. We also have to continue to provide excellent infrastructure and utilities to support businesses and homes. Again, all these would require land and investment in strategic infrastructure ahead of time. We are also investing in the expansion of our gas, power and telecommunications infrastructure to ensure they remain relevant to business needs.

11 More land will also be needed to house a larger population comfortably. As our population ages, we will need to enhance the provision of facilities and amenities to better cater to the needs of families and the elderly. Rising expectations will also exert greater demand for recreational areas, and entertainment facilities.

12 Our Mid-Term Concept Plan Review has concluded that we have sufficient land to cater to our land needs in the future, if we use this precious resource judiciously and wisely. There would be a need for greater optimization of land-use, and trade-offs between uses will intensify. The challenge is to come up with creative solutions to accommodate land demand, while maintaining a good quality living environment. With global competition among cities, our goal is not just to provide space, but also to enhance our living environment to the extent that it becomes our competitive advantage in the attraction of talent and investment. As cities become more similar in a globalised world, Singapore can stand out as a liveable and attractive city that offers not only economic opportunities, but also social stability, and a healthy and sustainable physical environment.

Measures Required Now

13 This is a major challenge. But it can be done. There are many issues to consider and measures put in place now, in order to achieve this vision.

Public Housing

14 One important consideration is the public housing provision for our population. Singaporeans today have a wide choice of housing locations and types. We can choose to live in new towns such as Punggol; established areas such as Clementi and Bedok; or new homes in the Central Area such as the Pinnacle@Duxton. Residents can also choose from a variety of low, medium and high-density housing, depending on individual preference and affordability.

15 The Housing & Development Board (HDB) has carried out various estate renewal programmes to upgrade the living environment in HDB estates, and provide better facilities and amenities for the residents. Toa Payoh is a good example of a HDB town that has undergone renewal whilst retaining its identity and character. In the coming years, we will accelerate the pace of lift upgrading through the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) to provide lift access on every floor. We will also continue to select blocks for upgrading under our Main Upgrading Programme (MUP).

16 Moving forward, we will go beyond estate upgrading to place greater emphasis on the rejuvenation of our housing estates. Within the next 10 years, more of our flats will be 40 to 50 years old. This provides an excellent opportunity for HDB to explore new ideas for our next generation of public housing that will bring HDB living to a higher plane. In this way, we can not only optimise landuse, but also incorporate features that will further enhance residents’ living experience.

17 HDB has formed a multi-agency taskforce to brainstorm new ideas and incorporate new technologies and concepts for a total “urban regeneration” of the older HDB estates. We intend to comprehensively redesign these estates over time to provide greater convenience and comfort to residents. What can residents in our new generation of housing look forward to? HDB is exploring the concept of “Housing in a Park,” which will complement our vision for Singapore to be a City in a Garden. Residential and commercial areas will be seamlessly integrated with the transport infrastructure via a comprehensive pedestrian network. Residents can look forward to lushly landscaped car parking podiums that are integrated with their blocks so that they can walk to their cars without being exposed to the elements. There will be environmentally friendly features installed in flats to save water and energy. Residents will be provided with centralised chutes for recyclables to make it easy for all to recycle. With barrier free facilities and universal design features, residents of all ages, young and old, will be able move about easily within the new estates to enjoy the facilities and lead healthy and active lives. The new generation of HDB estates will be built for greater community participation and ownership. HDB is exploring the possibility of allowing residents to collectively decide on communal facilities at the precinct level. More communal spaces will be provided, at the podium level and even possibly at the mid levels of residential blocks, to encourage social integration.

18 The possibility for new ideas in public housing is exciting and limitless, constrained only by our imagination and our willingness to try new things. At an appropriate juncture, we will seek residents’ suggestions for their dream homes and communities. The urban regeneration of HDB estates will go beyond the current upgrading programmes in terms of scale and scope. It will mark a new milestone in our public housing programme and will be an integral part of our effort to build a distinctive city and endearing home for Singaporeans.

Transportation

19 Another important area is transportation. Singapore can be proud of our public transport system, which is reliable, convenient and affordable.

20 As our population grows and more visitors make their way to Singapore, greater transportation needs will have to be met. We will need to add to and extensively improve the existing road network. Existing expressways will be upgraded, and many new expressways will be added. However, as Singapore becomes more built up, land for further road widening and new roads will be limited. Some may have to pass through built-up areas, and many new roads will have to be underground or on viaduct, to optimise the use of space. These roads will be more expensive to build. But even then, there is a limit to how many new roads we can build. The trade-off will be less land for other uses, such as housing and industry. Nature areas and parks may have to go. More vehicular traffic could also compromise our living environment by generating more noise and air pollution.

21 We need to think of bold solutions to meet the greater transport needs without undermining the quality of our environment. One way is to improve our public transport system even more, so that we are less reliant on private transportation. A comprehensive review is being carried out by the Ministry of Transport (MOT)/Land Transport Authority (LTA) to look into the way we travel. The aim is to increase the proportion of trips taken on public transport during the morning peak period from 63% today to at least 70% over the next 10 to 15 years. This approach of heavy reliance on public transportation is not unusual. In dense cities such as New York and London, most people leave their cars at home and travel by the subway and public buses, as it is the most convenient way of moving around the city.

22 To achieve this, we have to invest in our public transport infrastructure and improve the service levels to provide a high quality and affordable public transport system for commuters. For a start, the Rapid Transit System (RTS) network will have to be expanded, with more rail lines added to new areas, thereby enhancing accessibility and reducing travel times. The integration between rail and bus services will also be improved for more seamless connectivity.

23 For instance, the Circle Line will add another 33.3 km to our rail network when it opens from 2010 onwards. It will link all existing Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) lines running into the city, greatly enhancing connectivity between suburban areas and reducing journey time for commuters considerably. Commuters travelling from Serangoon to Paya Lebar, for example, will take less than 15 minutes on the Circle Line, compared to about half an hour by bus or MRT today. The Boon Lay Extension to the East-West MRT line, when completed in 2009, will serve the needs of the people working in the Jurong Industrial Estate. LTA is currently carrying out feasibility studies for a new 33-station Downtown Line. The 40 km underground line will link up the developments in Marina Bay to estates in the Choa Chu Kang/Bukit Panjang/Bukit Timah corridor and the MacPherson/Bedok Reservoir/Tampines corridor. Beyond that, LTA will be evaluating other new lines as well as extensions to current lines in different parts of Singapore which are currently under-served by the RTS network as part of the overall master plan. In the long term, we may need to at least double our rail network.

24 In the area of private transport, we will continue to review and refine the various ownership and usage restraint measures to manage the growth in car usage as well as to encourage green vehicles and environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Development And Enhancement of Strategic Areas

25 Even as we deal with overall land needs, we are also developing certain strategic areas to be the new competitive strengths of Singapore. Marina Bay is shaping up well with several upcoming major developments. In the next 5 years, the area will be transformed by a number of upcoming developments. One Raffles Quay and the NTUC Centre are already completed. The Marina Barrage will be completed by 2007, transforming Marina Bay into a freshwater reservoir which can be used for recreation. The Singapore Flyer will be up by 2008. By 2009, the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort will be completed, together with the waterfront promenade and the new double helix bridge. The Sail @ Marina Bay will be completed in the same year, introducing the first residents to Marina Bay. And in the following year, in 2010, the Marina Bay Financial Centre as well as the Gardens by the Bay will be completed. On top of these, redevelopment of former Clifford Pier and the former Custom Harbour Branch Building will transform the waterfront at Collyer Quay, with a new lifestyle and hotel development. These key developments over the next 5 years will help to meet the demand for space for financial, business services, tourism and housing, and inject activity and excitement around the Bay. But even as we look forward to these developments, the next phase of development for Marina Bay is already being planned. To support upcoming and future development of Marina Bay, several infrastructure developments will be needed, eg. the Common Services Tunnel, bridges and promenade, roads and rail.

26 In addition to Marina Bay, we will also focus on opening up new areas for development to meet the growing demand for space for the business services sector. As part of our strategy to decentralize commercial activities to areas outside the city centre, we have successfully developed Tampines Regional Centre into a vibrant office and retail cum entertainment hub. Many banks have a presence in Tampines today. The malls are packed, serving the needs of residents in the eastern part of Singapore. We will move on in the next few years to build up another Regional Centre in Jurong, to transform it into a business and transportation hub. It will provide an alternative location for businesses and serve the western part of Singapore. Next, we will build up Paya Lebar into a Sub-Regional Centre to serve the eastern part of Singapore, filling in the gap between the city area and Tampines Regional Centre. There is also potential for further growth at Woodlands Regional Centre. These centers will bring more jobs to people living in the suburban estates. Detailed plans for these new commercial centers are being worked out, and will be released to the public next year, as part of Master Plan 2008 review.

27 We will also invest to upgrade the existing Central Business District (CBD) and Bugis areas. We will put in new street furniture, night lighting, enhance the public spaces and pedestrian connections within these areas. Other places with distinctive character like Little India, Kampong Glam, Balestier, Holland Village, Siglap Village, among others, will also be improved.

Creating a Lush Green City

28 Another key measure to create a sustainable and attractive city is the greening of Singapore through the provision of attractive new parks and park connectors, as well as vertical and high-rise greenery. Our aim is to be a living, green city, where contact with nature, with greenery is pervasive and seamless. As our city becomes more built up, the presence of lush landscaped spaces will be even more important to provide relief to high-density living.

29 As an indication of the importance we place on greening our environment, we have allocated over 100 ha of prime land around Marina Bay to build three new inter-linked world-class waterfront Gardens at Marina South, Marina East and Marina Centre. In September 2006, the National Parks Board (NParks) named two design teams as winners of the International Design Competition. Since then, NParks has been working with these two design teams to refine the master plan for the Gardens. The Gardens at Marina South will focus on horticultural displays to showcase plants of economic importance in international trade, and their relevance to the daily lives of people in South East Asia. The Gardens at Marina East will comprise exciting aquatic gardens, interactive water features, and food gardens. The architects and designers have briefed me on the progress of the works. Let me share my excitement about the Gardens by showing you this short 1-minute video clip.

30 Other parks and gardens around the island have not been forgotten. Our favourite Botanic Gardens has recently undergone a $38m face-lift. More facilities and features will also be added to existing and new parks island-wide such as East Coast Park, Pasir Ris Park, and Horticulture Park to make them more attractive and accessible to visitors. We will also accelerate our park connector programme.

31 We have a total of 70 km of park connectors today. The aim is to increase the total length of park connectors to 200 km by 2012, and more than 400 km in the long term. These park connectors will eventually link parks with town centres, sports complexes and homes, serving as green corridors for people who want to cycle or jog or simply enjoy nature. In this way, we have effectively expanded the recreation space and increased accessibility to our parks and coastline within our island city-state, with minimal land take.

Enjoying our waterbodies

32 Apart from greening, we will also be making better use of our waterways and waterbodies. The Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters Programme, or ABC Waters Programme was recently launched, and will transform utilitarian drains and canals into beautiful, flowing streams and rivers. These vibrant waterbodies and waterways not only make better use of our limited space, but also create new opportunities for us to get close to water and nature. Some exciting proposals and ideas are being exhibited at the “Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters” Exhibition opened by Prime Minister on Tuesday.

Fostering sense of belonging and identity through our physical landscape

33 While Singapore continues to transform, it is important to enhance our sense of identity and identification with our city. Singapore is our home. People must feel this in themselves and in their surroundings. URA’s role is to make Singapore a city with character and identity through our physical landscape. So far, more than 6,500 buildings and structures across the country have been conserved, despite our limited land and a relatively short history. Retention of our identity through conservation will become more important as more of our city becomes developed and redeveloped to cater to the needs of a larger population.

Creating a Distinctive City

34 MND/URA will also work closely with other agencies to create more leisure opportunities to make Singapore an interesting and fun place to live and play in. These include creating promenades and landscaped spaces for residents to enjoy our waterfront, creating more places for recreation, bringing in new tourist attractions, investing in night lighting, organising more national and international events and jazzing up Singapore’s night life.

Investing for the Future

35 All the above require us to invest in the future development of Singapore. The Government is committed towards putting in the necessary investment to make Singapore competitive and a great place – be it in the hard areas of public housing, public transport and infrastructure, or the softer aspects of encouraging a sustainable, green and vibrant environment.

36 But we need the private sector to work in partnership with us. Our city is undergoing an exciting transformation. I can feel it, and so I hope can many of you. In our path towards a vibrant and distinctive city, you can make a difference by shaping the physical landscape of our future.

Conclusion

37 We have enjoyed four decades of good economic growth and social development since our independence. We have built Singapore into an efficient city that provides us with a first world living environment.

38 Looking forward, we are fortunate to be in a region that is full of potential for growth. We must make full use of this potential. We must plan for growth. We support our future growth in a sustainable manner. This will be increasingly challenging as we use up more of our limited land resources. Providing more land to support one use would mean less land for other uses. Our environment will be more built-up, and greater trade-offs among various uses will need to be better managed.

39 We have to go out of the way, and think out of the box, to make our environment attractive. We will invest in our future, be it to rejuvenate flats, or create a public transport infrastructure to give you a smooth and fast ride. With determination, our city will be one that is attractive, bustling and cosmopolitan; with state-of-the-art transport system and infrastructure, well connected land, sea and air links, and areas of nature, history and charm. We will have homes we all look forward to going back to each evening. We may need to build taller flats but you will not be far away from a green refuge for your morning tai chi or evening jog.

40 Singapore has always thrived on challenges. We believe that with challenges, come opportunities. Working together, we will be able to meet future challenges to provide for population growth and capitalise on the economic opportunities, while maintaining a good quality of life. Indeed, we can create a global city, which at the same time, is a home for all of us.

Thank you.

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