At her President’s Address on 24 August 2020, President Halimah Yacob spoke about how we must keep an eye on the future and invest in building Singapore, to ensure we emerge stronger from the crisis.

On 27 August 2020, the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment outlined their priorities in the new term.

Here’s a look at how the Government plans adapt to new norms and build our home of the future.

i. Securing Singapore’s status as a connected and competitive hub

Ministry of Transport (MOT):

• Reviving our air hub in a safe way; improving our aviation infrastructure and capabilities.
• Securing our status as a top transhipment hub and international maritime centre; strengthening our competitiveness (Tuas Port to be completed in the 2040s)
• Restarting travel between Singapore and Malaysia through Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA); embarking on the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link Project
  

ii. Developing an inclusive home and livable future city

Ministry of Transport (MOT):

• Delivering reliable and affordable public transport; fulfilling our vision of a 45-Minute City with 20-Minute Towns through walk-cycle-ride journeys by 2040
• Working towards more inclusive public transport, better supporting the less ambulant , including mobile application trials to help the visually-impaired
  

Ministry of National Development (MND):

• Transforming Singapore into a City in Nature, integrating nature into our urban areas and pathways, and extending our nature park network
• Ensuring public housing remains accessible and affordable
• Catering to the diverse housing needs of Singaporeans, including seniors and lower-income families
• Rejuvenating our HDB towns and keeping public housing highly liveable through upgrading
• Developing “Healthy Towns for all ages” – planning and designing our HDB towns and estates to better support the physical, social and mental well-being of residents at different life stages
• Laying the groundwork for longer-term infrastructure projects, eg. Greater Southern Waterfront
  

iii. Ensuring our long-term sustainability and strenghtening our resource resilience

Ministry of Transport (MOT):

• Expanding cycling paths to a total of 1,320km by 2030
• Working towards phasing out private vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2040; promoting adoption of electric vehicles
• Purchasing only cleaner energy buses
  

Ministry of National Development (MND):

• Designing new precincts for greater environmental sustainability and liveability; including Tengah’s “car-free” HDB town centre
• Continuing to green our urban infrastructure; rolling out the next Green Building Masterplan and raising building sustainability standards; deploying resource-saving and other sustainable initiatives through the HDB Green Towns Programme
• Driving research, innovation and digitalisation across the built environment value chain – improve productivity and sustainability, and create new and better jobs for Singaporeans 

Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE):

• Pushing for a green recovery from COVID-19 – supporting a low-carbon and climate-resilient future
• Driving public sector sustainability efforts across Government
• Developing Tuas Nexus to harness synergies between solid waste and water treatment processes, and generate sufficient solar energy to power all local waterworks by 2021
• Ensuring water security by expanding Changi NEWater Factory and developing Tuas Nexus; Investing in technology such as rolling out smart meters
• Meeting 30 per cent of Singapore’s nutritional needs with locally produced food by 2030
• Pushing boundaries to realise a Circular Economy with NEWSand (transforming waste treatment residue into construction materials) and NEWOil (transforming discarded plastics into an alternative fuel)