Enhancing our Economic Infrastructure

We have to invest in our economic infrastructure to position Singapore for the next 15 years of our development. These are major investments which will help support the growth of our high-value manufacturing and services economy, and catch the next wave of emerging industries.

IT Connectivity

The Intelligent Nation 2015 Masterplan, estimated to cost $4 billion, is a major step forward in our economic infrastructure. We will make Singapore a centre for creating and commercialising new media technologies, as well as a whole array of digital content and services in areas such as healthcare, education, and games-on-demand. For example, local player, Bridge Mobile, will be distributing ESPN STAR Sports content through mobile devices across Asia, from Singapore. We are already rolling out Wireless@SG which will cover most of Singapore. Industry players are putting forward plans for the new National Broadband Network. The pervasive nature of our IT infrastructure will also encourage any Singaporean to take full advantage of connectivity to the world, or even to create something new and take it to market.

Enhancing our Energy Hub

We will build up Singapore as an energy hub for the future, expanding on our current role as an oil-refining and trading centre. To diversify our energy sources, a new billion-dollar Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, terminal will be ready to supply a third of Singapore's gas demand by 2012. More than that, as gas catches on as a source of energy, it will help position Singapore as a gas hub the same way we are now an oil hub.

We will move ahead with the second phase of the underground rock cavern beneath Jurong Island that will be used for the storage of chemicals. The project will free up 60 hectares of surface land space on Jurong Island for high value manufacturing activities. This is an investment costing $2 billion in total.

Alternative Energy is an emerging growth industry. The global Alternative Energy market is projected to grow by 10 times, to US$300 billion, by 2015. We will seek to participate in this emerging industry, in areas where Singapore can be competitive.

Rolls Royce has already invested in a $100 million fuel cell development project in Singapore. Leading foreign solar companies such as Conergy, Solarworld, and Solar-Fabrik have based their Asian HQs here. An Australian company, Natural Fuel, is investing $200 million in what will be the world’s largest biodiesel facility, in Singapore. We are positioning ourselves to ride the wave of alternative energy technology.

Creating a Living Environment of the Future

For Singapore to stand out as a global city, however, we cannot be just an economic marketplace. We must have a living environment that is the best in Asia - a city that exudes our own Singapore brand of vibrancy and diversity.

We will remake our city, to create a home that is distinctive and endearing to Singaporeans. It will be a place where every family feels they own not just their flat, but their neighbourhood; where our elderly lead active lives; and where the young can find a space for every interest and aspiration. We will transform our HDB heartlands, connect them to a more extensive and convenient transport network, and integrate them into a network of parks and waterways that will together represent a quantum leap in our quality of life.

We will make Singapore a city of gardens and waters, or as PM put it, a city of green and blue. The Gardens by the Bay will open in 2010, bringing further activity and vibrancy to the whole area. We will spend about $700 million on these gardens, the next phase of park connectors, and enhancements to existing parks in the coming years.

We will also make use of our extensive network of water bodies to enhance our living environment, be it in the city where we are converting the Marina Bay into a reservoir, or in the residential heartlands where we are bringing waterfront living to HDB neighbourhoods. In the next five years, the Active-Beautiful-Clean or ABC Waters Programme will cover 28 projects at a cost of about $200 million.

We will transform Marina Bay into a vibrant live-work-play destination with distinctive architecture, lush greenery, public spaces and a pedestrian promenade that will encircle the entire Bay. Our established city areas like Orchard Road, Bugis and Bras Basah will also be enhanced.

Next, our housing estates. As the Minister for National Development announced last week, we will undertake a systematic and total “urban regeneration” of our housing estates. We will start with the older housing estates in about five years’ time. This will cost us about $1 billion per year in the steady state.

The makeover of our public housing estates will be done together with the development of our public transport system so that residents can readily commute from home to workplaces and commercial nodes all over Singapore. The Circle Line which will open from 2010, plus the new Downtown Line which we will embark on next, will allow commuters to enjoy greater convenience and faster rides. For example, a trip from Bukit Panjang to the city centre that now takes 60 minutes will be shortened by one-third.

Over time, we will also have to cater for a larger population, by expanding our road network. We will have to widen all our existing highways to four lanes. New highways will also be needed. Plans are already being finalized for a Marina Coastal Expressway to serve the new business district and other developments in Marina Bay. In all, over the next 10 to 15 years, we expect to spend at least $20 billion on our land transport infrastructure.

This is the way we want to transform Singapore into a world class city and provide the highest quality of life for our citizens. Modern business centres, choice residences for all Singaporeans, and attractive leisure and recreational amenities at Marina Bay, Orchard Road, Bugis and other central areas. HDB homes nestled in lushly landscaped common areas, fully fitted with elderly-friendly facilities, connected to the rest of Singapore by an efficient road and rail system, and linked into green corridors and waterways. This will be the Singapore of 2020.