by NCMP Gerald Giam
Mr Chairman,
URA’s Master Plan 2008 envisioned more regional commercial centres being developed outside the city centre to offer alternatives for businesses and provide jobs closer to homes. One of the objectives of the Master Plan is to achieve better job distribution island-wide, and reduce congestion and commuting to the city .
Sir, having a large proportion of commuters travelling to and from the city centre at the same time puts huge stress on the transportation network. This necessitates the building of more roads and MRT lines to serve the city centre, and puts pressure on public transport operators to add more bus and train capacity to cater to very high peak loads heading in the same direction.
I understand that development of Jurong Lake District and Paya Lebar Central are currently underway.
May I ask the Ministry for an update on progress of these developments and any other decentralised commercial centres?
To what extent will these reduce the crowding in the city centre, and manage the stress on the transportation network?
Does the Ministry have plans to develop more such commercial centres, and if so where will they be located?