Singapore will not be too crowded, says Mah
                 Bow Tan, but difficult issues about land use lie
                 ahead

                 By CHUA MUI HOONG

                 SINGAPORE is gearing up to be home to 5.5 million
                 people by mid-century and is reviewing its long-term
                 concept plan with this figure in mind, National
                 Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday.

                 Planners expect the population to reach 5.5 million by
                 2040 or 2050, taking into account an expected
                 increase in the number of foreigners working here.

                 From just three million in 1990, the number has
                 swelled to 3.9 million today, including 700,000
                 foreigners.

                 Singapore will not be too crowded with 5.5 million,
                 said Mr Mah. In fact, it can accommodate more.

                 More land has already been "safeguarded" for
                 housing in the long term. The existing one million
                 housing units here take up 10,000 ha and 6,400 ha
                 more -- enough for another 10 Ang Mo Kio new
                 towns -- have been set aside.

                 Creative use can save as much as 40 per cent of land.

                 Singapore can build taller buildings, for example. The
                 first 40-storey Housing Board blocks will soar in Toa
                 Payoh soon and more will be built if demand is good.

                 It will also dig deeper and site appropriate facilities,
                 such as sewerage tunnels and ammunition depots,
                 underground.

                 Facilities can also share space. Measures can be
                 taken to inject life into the business districts so that
                 they double up as entertainment areas at night.

                 During the debate on his ministry's estimates
                 yesterday, he gave Parliament a glimpse of the
                 thinking behind the new concept plan, the blueprint of
                 the country's physical development including land use
                 and transport networks.

                 In the 1990 concept plan, Singapore's long-term
                 plans had been based on the population hitting four
                 million some time after 2010.

                 And if the figure was exceeded, planners envisaged
                 more extensive land reclamation and using offshore
                 islands for residential development.

                 But the large influx of foreigners has led to
                 faster-than-expected growth.

                 The total fertility rate has been below the 2.1 figure
                 needed for the population to replace itself. Last year,
                 it was 1.5.

                 The minister disclosed that the Urban Redevelopment
                 Authority would soon be ready to "involve the public
                 in various planning issues" on the concept plan.

                 He promised extensive consultations and exhibitions
                 before the concept plan is finalised. Some difficult
                 issues about land use lie ahead, he hinted.

                 He said: "At the end of the day, we will still need to
                 make very difficult trade-offs in planning our land
                 uses.

                 "For example, we would have to decide how much
                 land we want to set aside for housing, for a better
                 quality of life, how much green space to set aside and,
                 on the other hand, how much industrial land we need
                 to set aside in order to attract investments.

                 "Or another dilemma: how much nature reserves, how
                 much land to set aside for recreation versus housing?"

                       Adapted from The Straits Times, 14 Mar 2000.