Singapore may appear significantly developed, but the government still plans to build several large-scale infrastructure projects in the next 10 years to further strengthen the economy, reported the Straits Times.
“Singapore may be a little red dot, very small; some of you may have the impression that we are already very built-up. But, in fact, we are not done building Singapore yet. We have not reached our physical limits,” said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.
SEE ALSO: Singapore’s first retirement community nears completion
He told this to an audience of about 600 people from more than 40 nations attending the Singapore Regional Business Forum at the Ritz-Carlton.
“The infrastructure that we’re putting in will include several major pieces. For example, we will be building a new Terminal 5 that will double everything that you see in Changi Airport today.”
Besides constructing a new Tuas mega-port in Singapore’s western part that will double the capacity of existing sea ports, there are also plans to enhance the city-state’s linkages with the region, including the rail connection with Malaysia.
“There is a lot of work for us to do, but we must have confidence that we can make it happen. If you look at our history in Singapore, we have never failed in restructuring our economy before,” he noted.
Meanwhile, Wong revealed that the government fully supports Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) given that Singapore firms are “natural partners” for Chinese businesses thinking of expanding into the ASEAN region.
Notably, the main topic of this year’s forum is the opportunities arising from the BRI. However, a study commissioned by the event organiser, the Singapore Business Federation, shows that there is a cloud of uncertainty over this ambitious project.
In fact, 45.3 percent of the 77 ASEAN business leaders surveyed in June said their firm “is unclear about what the opportunity might be at this point”.
“The lack of detail and vagueness is a challenge for companies who are interested in investing and want to evaluate the opportunities presented by the BRI,” added the Economist Corporate Network in a report.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
