MOT Addendum to the President's Address

Mr Jeffrey Siow

Acting Minister for Transport

1.     The Ministry of Transport (MOT) will strengthen Singapore's position as a global sustainable aviation and maritime hub, and increase transportation options for Singaporeans to meet future mobility needs.

Grow Singapore Air, Maritime and Cross-Border Land Connectivity

2.     MOT will continue to expand international linkages in air, sea, and land transport through stronger international cooperation and strategic agreements with key partners. This will enhance Singapore's role as a trusted node in the global supply chain and a vital connector between Asia and the world, while expanding opportunities for businesses, and creating good jobs for Singaporeans.

3.     Changi Terminal 5 (T5) will bolster Singapore's air connectivity and reinforce Changi's position as a leading global air hub. When operational in the mid-2030s, T5 will increase Changi's annual passenger capacity by more than 50% to serve about 50 million more passengers, and grow city links from around 170 today to over 200.

4.     Beyond T5, the Changi East Industrial Zone and the revamped Changi Airfreight Centre will increase Singapore’s air cargo handling capacity by 80% to 5.4 million tonnes per annum. We will also develop the Changi East Urban District, a new lifestyle and business hub located at the doorstep of T5, that will offer new spaces for Singaporeans and visitors to connect, work, and play.

5.     Ahead of T5’s opening, MOT will work with tripartite partners to uplift aviation careers, through jobs transformation, skills upgrading, and adoption of technology such as autonomous airside vehicles and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimise operations. Our air hub will also become more sustainable with the use of sustainable aviation fuel.

6.     The Port of Singapore, one of the world’s busiest container ports, will expand further. When completed in the 2040s, Tuas Port will have a handling capacity of 65 million twenty-foot equivalent units annually, almost 60% more than today, with round-the-clock operations supported by automation and AI. The consolidation of port facilities at Tuas will free up land in the city centre for urban development and green spaces that Singaporeans can enjoy.

7.     As the maritime industry decarbonises, MOT will also build expertise and infrastructure to handle alternative fuels at scale, so that our port remains ready for a low-carbon future.

8.     The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, expected to begin service by December 2026, will connect Woodlands North to Bukit Chagar in just five minutes, and carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction. The RTS link will serve the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, and strengthen economic and people ties between Singapore and Malaysia.

Enhance and Expand Public Transport for All

9.     Under the Land Transport Master Plan, MOT will continue to expand our rail network. In the coming years, we will close the loop for the Circle Line, extend the Downtown Line and Thomson-East Coast Line, and progressively open the new Jurong Region Line (JRL). The Cross Island Line will link all existing lines when it is completed, providing an alternative route during planned maintenance and in the event of disruption. By the early 2030s, eight in ten households will be within a ten-minute walk of a train station, making Singapore one of the most connected cities in the world. The next bound of rail expansion in the late 2030s and early 2040s will include JRL’s West Coast Extension, and the Seletar and Tengah lines.

10.    Maintaining high rail reliability standards will remain a key challenge as our network grows and ages. MOT will work with rail operators and workers to invest in systems and training to improve monitoring, maintenance, and renewal of our railway assets.

11.    We will enhance bus connectivity to meet ridership demand in newly-developed residential towns. Nearly $1 billion more will go into the Bus Connectivity Enhancement Programme to improve access and shorten public transport journey times for residents living in HDB estates further away from the city.

12.    Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) will improve first- and last-mile connectivity, and help ease manpower and land constraints for public transport. MOT will pilot fixed-route AV shuttle services in Punggol, and progressively expand this service to more towns, including estates farther from the city centre. Autonomous mobility will create good jobs in areas such as remote or safety operators, software developers, engineers, and radar designers.

13.    As Singapore continues to develop and our society evolves, MOT will listen and engage the public to better understand these changing needs, and to build a land transport system that Singaporeans can take pride in. We will continue to upgrade MRT stations and bus interchanges for easier navigation and to make them more welcoming spaces. We are retrofitting lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges, and implementing features like covered linkways, kerbless crossings, and wider footpaths. By 2030, every town will have at least one Friendly Street with these features.

A More Connected Transport System for Singapore and Singaporeans

14.    MOT will continue to develop a transport system that strengthens Singapore’s position as a global hub through growing our air, maritime, and land connectivity, and building a transport network that connects lives and livelihoods for Singaporeans.