Transport, land use planning to even out demand

We thank Mr Ng Ya Ken for his views ("Create another CBD in the east"; Oct 10).

In the current Land Transport Master Plan, we will double the rail network to about 360km by 2030 from 178km today. The new public transport connections such as the Cross Island Line and Jurong Region Line will improve connectivity throughout the island, effectively enabling eight in 10 households to be served by rail within 10 minutes' walk.

To reduce commuter crowding and waiting times, more than 100 trains will be added to increase the rail capacity, and the MRT signalling system will be upgraded so trains can run more frequently.

With an expanded rail network and other nearer-term improvements such as the injection of 800 more buses and 40 new bus services to our transport network, we will be able to achieve a high-quality, space-efficient public transport system to meet commuter needs.

Apart from transport infrastructure, land use planning can also help to even out travel demand across the island. Thus, we have progressively opened up commercial clusters such as Tampines Regional Centre, Novena Fringe Centre, one-north in Buona Vista and Changi Business Park.

More of such employment centres are taking shape in Jurong Lake District and Paya Lebar Central. We are also kick-starting the development of Woodlands Regional Centre with the sale of a commercial site in December.

Individually, these centres are planned to be fairly sizeable. For example, once fully built up, Woodlands Regional Centre can provide approximately 100,000 new jobs as well as a good mix of retail and food and beverage uses to residents living in the north.

Locating these commercial centres in convenient locations outside the city centre and closer to homes will help reduce travel to the city and facilitate more efficient utilisation of our transport system. In future, residents can find good job opportunities close to home in the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of Singapore.

Even as we build up more employment centres outside the city centre, there will still be growing demand for core financial and business services activities in our Central Business District (CBD) due to its prestigious location, good connectivity and potential synergies with other businesses.

Hence, to strengthen Singapore's status as a global hub for financial and business services, we will continue to provide sufficient high-quality commercial space within our CBD and Marina Bay area.

Concurrently, we have also planned to introduce more housing in and around the city centre, so that more people will enjoy the benefits of living near where they work in the city.

Helen Lim (Ms)

Director (Media Relations)

Land Transport Authority

Richard Hoo

Group Director (Strategic Planning)

Urban Redevelopment Authority

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.