Checkpoint expansion a necessary step

In a significant redrawing of Singapore's future landscape, the Woodlands Checkpoint will be expanded to meet traffic demand down the road. The scale of the projected redevelopment is manifest in the need to acquire nine Housing Board blocks nearby to make way for the checkpoint's expansion. Its need is clear. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has projected that traffic volume at the checkpoint will increase by close to 40 per cent by 2050. This means a daily average of about 400,000 travellers, compared to pre-pandemic levels of about 300,000 travellers in 2019.

Covid-19 had a tremendous impact on travel, but the full reopening of Singapore's land borders from April 1 this year has seen arrival volumes returning already to more than 90 per cent of the pre-Covid-19 volume during weekends. The authorities expect daily volumes to reach pre-Covid-19 levels soon and to continue to increase thereafter. If the overall clearance capacity is not increased, the travel time for vehicular traffic could increase by more than 60 per cent to 70 per cent during peak periods by 2050. Hence the need to plan and act now for a future that is but less than three decades away.