Singapore: 2 New MRT Stations Ready

Singapore has 2 new MRT Stations ready. The Pioneer and Joo Koon Stations saw some 5,000 people attend their Open House on Saturday (yesterday) which was officiated by Senior Minister of State, Ms Lim Hwee Hua.

Situated at the Western end of Singapore’s East-West MRT line, the official launch of these 2 stations shall do much to alleviate passenger traffic at Boon Lay MRT Interchange.

In the past, throngs of MRT commuters had to ply via public and private transport to Boon Lay MRT Station which was then the last stop in the West. Overcrowding at this station had been a very sore point for commuters these last few years.

More MRT Stations On The Way

In line with the island’s massive civil infrastructure drive, the new Circle Line MRT route is very close to completion. According to Minister for Transport Raymond Lim, the Circle Line should become operational in as early as 30 May 2009.
The underground Circle Line shall serve commuters plying within the South-Central part of the island and is expected to greatly reduced above-ground vehicle and paedestrian traffic.

Singapore’s Strategy During A Global Recession

The Government had officially announced its plans to focus on intensive civil infrastructure works for the duration of the current global economic downturn. A massive S$20.5 billion was allocated to a new scheme dubbed the “Resilience Package” which places emphasis on expanding and accelerating public spending on infrastructure and developing suburban nodes and upgrading neighbourhoods.
At the expense of drawing from past reserves that results in a S$8.7 billion national financial deficit, this bold initiative allocates an additional S$4.4 billion to boosting infrastructure, health and education projects.

New Underground MRT Station In The Heartlands

Impact Of New MRT Stations and Islandwide Upgrading

Whenever infrastructural improvements are implemented, real estate prices rise across the board. Though these prices have taken a beating these past few months, they are expected to rise sharply at the tail-end of this recession.

Holistic Approach to Maintaining The MRT

And though many jobs are expected to continue to be lost during the onslaught of this global downturn, the Government is working at a furious pace to create and offer new jobs for its citizenry.
As it stands, Job Fairs have been conducted across the island on a very regular basis. Government-sponsored Skills Upgrading Programs also come with these new jobs that are aimed at re-integrating retrenched professionals into new careers paths.
This strategy of keeping the National Unemployment Rate at a bare minimum ensures that MRT services shall not only be self-sufficient, but also profitable even during a severe economic recession.