The Government is supportive of initiatives that enhance our environment. Transport, being one of the key users of energy and contributor to CO2 and PM emission, has an important part to play in protecting our environment. Our policies, such as promoting greater use of public transportation and managing the demand for vehicles and their usage on the roads through the Vehicle Quota System (VQS) and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), are in line with this objective.

Our vehicle taxes also encourage motorists to consider energy efficient models. Upfront vehicle taxes such as the Additional Registration Fees (ARF) and Excise Duty (ED) are levied based on the vehicle's Open Market Value (OMV). In addition, the road tax of cars has a progressivity element that is pegged to the car's engine capacity, and thus cars with lower engine capacity pay lower road taxes.

Since 2001, the Government has put in place a Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) scheme to encourage the take-up of green vehicles, and has been enhancing the incentives for green vehicles. From 1st Jan 2006, buyers of new green cars can enjoy a tax rebate equivalent to 40% of the car's OMV, up from 20% previously. Euro IV emission standard has also been implemented for new diesel vehicles registered from 1 October 2006. To encourage the development of environmentally friendly vehicle technologies, automotive companies can register vehicles used for research and development (R&D) activities under the Transport Technology Innovation and Development Scheme (TIDES), which is jointly administered by the LTA and the EDB. The Government will continue to monitor developments and regularly review our policies and incentives for green vehicles.

Developing a good public transport system is a top priority. We have, and will continue to invest heavily in our public transport infrastructure.

We have already spent over $13 billion to build up our existing Rapid Transit System (RTS) network of 138 km. Another $20 billion has been committed to expand the density and coverage of the MRT. When projects such the Boon Lay Extension (BLE), the Circle Line (CCL) and the Downtown Line (DTL) are completed in 2009, 2010 and 2018 respectively, they will increase the density and coverage of our RTS by more than 50% to 215 km. Beyond this, we will continue to identify other rail lines and extensions to support Singapore's development.

We are also investing in bus service improvements. To improve the reliability of bus services, we need to give buses more priority on the roads through measures like full day bus lanes. We have and will continue to extend the coverage of the bus lane network, and will study other measures to give buses more priority on the roads.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Public Transport Council (PTC) have also raised the bar on service standards for the public transport operators over time. For example, the PTC has tightened the Quality of Standards for basic bus services, with the key requirement that requires 80% of bus services to have headways or frequencies of less than 10 minutes during peak periods.

As part of improving public transport services, LTA is working to provide better travel information to help commuters plan their journeys and manage their time better. LTA has installed panels with bus service information at all 3,000 bus-stops islandwide. LTA is also conducting trials for provision of real-time bus arrival information at bus shelters and key bus services maps at selected bus-stops along Orchard Road.

To provide commuters with more choices, the PTC has introduced the Premium Bus services scheme which will provide commuters who are prepared to pay a higher fare for a superior level of service with the option of having a more direct and comfortable journey.

Lastly, to improve the accessibility to our public transport nodes, LTA is putting in facilities such as covered linkways and Pedestrian Overhead Bridges over the next 5 years to enhance connectivity of our transport network to surrounding developments. To cater to less mobile commuters, our MRT stations have been upgraded with lifts and other barrier-free facilities. There will also be more wheelchair accessible buses in the coming years and by 2010, 40% of Singapore's bus fleet will be wheelchair-accessible.

The International Union of Public Transport (UITP), which is considered the international authority on public transport issues, had named Singapore among the top three cities among the 50 cities it surveyed in its 2006 "Mobility in Cities Database".

LTA and the Public Transport Council (PTC) have also conducted commuter surveys and benchmarking studies which have shown that commuters are generally satisfied with our public transport services. For example, LTA's 2006 Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey found that 8 in 10 commuters are satisfied with our bus and rail services. Accessibility/location of bus stops, interchanges and MRT stations, and the safety/security of public transport services in Singapore are top service attributes. LTA also conducted a benchmarking exercise in 2005 which compared our public transport operators with operators in other cities in Asia, Europe, and North America. SMRT and SBS Transit came up amongst the top in each of these four areas of system utilisation, fares, operational productivity as well as financial performance.

These commuter surveys and benchmarking studies also reveal the key areas where improvements should be made. For example, the 2006 Public Transport Customer Satisfaction Survey had highlighted waiting time and reliability of bus services are two attributes that commuters would like to see greater improvements.

LTA has been working with the bus operators to address them through measures such as giving buses greater priority on the road while the PTC has introduced a more stringent Quality of Service Standards for basic bus services in 2006.

Corporatisation of Changi Airport is a process to propel Changi Airport into a new phase of growth and development by sharpening its focus on airport operations. A big part of the regulatory and strategic functions performed by CAAS today will be retained in a re-structured Statutory Board, while we hope to provide greater flexibility for Changi Airport to further strengthen its position as an air hub. The aviation environment is a competitive one and this includes the competition in the airport business where airports like Dubai, Schiphol, and Hong Kong are doing very well as corporatised entities. A corporatised entity can do more to attract and retain talents. It can also venture overseas and develop as a truly international airport company.

Corporatisation has always featured as part of our long term plans for Changi Airport. It is only a question of timing. We have been studying corporatisation as early as 1992 but each time, our studies showed that the timing was not ideal because there were too many uncertainties at that particular point in time. For instance, the aviation industry had been affected by waves of uncertainties in the last 15 years, such as the Asian Financial Crisis, 9/11 and SARS. We think it is now timely to corporatise Changi Airport to take advantage of the new opportunities presented by the aviation industry.

In particular, competition between airports has become a lot keener now than before. Airports today are not just transport infrastructures but are businesses that compete for customers. There is also competition for talents. The success of Changi can be attributed to the competent and dedicated staff of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. But they are hotly pursued by the competitors of Changi. A corporatised entity will be better able to attract and retain talent, through offering a more varied and international career path.