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Paya Lebar Airbase will move to Changi; new port hub at Tuas: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — A new airbase and a fourth runway will be built at Changi East, with the Paya Lebar airbase to be moved to Changi later on, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally speech this evening (Aug 18).

SINGAPORE — A new airbase and a fourth runway will be built at Changi East, with the Paya Lebar airbase to be moved to Changi later on, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in his National Day Rally speech this evening (Aug 18).

The move will not only free up a large 800 hectare area in Paya Lebar – an area bigger than Bishan or Ang Mo Kio – to build new homes, offices and factories, but it will also remove height restrictions on a large area around Paya Lebar.

This would free up land to “develop new, exciting plans for the big chunk of eastern Singapore”, Mr Lee said, adding that the full changes will take place 20, 30 years later. “The potential is there, we can dream,” said Mr Lee.

Another plan that Mr Lee spoke about during the Rally was building of the new port in Tuas, which would consolidate all port operations in Singapore that are currently spread across Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang.

These port leases will end from 2027 onwards and the new port will be “bigger and more efficient” so Singapore can stay a “hub port”, Mr Lee said.

With the prime land in Tanjong Pagar freed up, Singapore can build anew Southern Waterfront City, the size of 1,000 hectares or 2.5 Marina Bays, stretching from Shenton Way to Pasir Panjang, he added.

Last October, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew announced that the move would free up prime land occupied by the terminals in the city area for redevelopment and result in more efficient port operations.

The Prime Minister said the ambitious, long-term plans reflect “our fundamental mindset and spirit – to be confident, to look ahead, to aim high”.

“If we can carry off these plans, we will not have to worry about running out of space or possibilities for Singapore,” he added.

““We are not at the limits. The sky is the limit. We are creating possibilities for the future. We are opening up opportunities for our children, for their children to continue to build, to upgrade and to reinvent our city for many more years to come.”

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