Singapore Budget 2015: Infrastructure spending to grow by 50% to reach S$30b

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SINGAPORE'S investment in infrastructure development will grow to about S$30 billion by the end of this decade, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam on Monday.

This is 50 per cent higher than the S$20 billion to be spent in the coming fiscal year. The country's development expenditure was S$12 billion five years ago. This "major reinvestment" in Singapore's infrastructure, he added, will meet Singapore's future economic and social needs.

The government is embarking on many projects, among them the development of Changi Airport's new Terminal 5. Singapore is also making improvements in public transport, and developing the heartlands into vibrant homes and communities, said Mr Tharman.

In healthcare, the number of beds in acute hospitals will go up by 25 per cent by the end of the decade, while nursing home capacity will increase by about 70 per cent.

The last time that Singapore made such significant investments in infrastructure, in proportion to gross domestic product, was in the 1990s, said Mr Tharman. That was when the government embarked on the development of Jurong Island, built the North-East Line and the Light Rail Transit network, and Changi General Hospital, among other investments.

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INFOGRAPHICS: What Budget 2015 may bring; Snapshot of the Singapore economy