A total of $11 billion will be set aside for a Covid-19 Resilience Package which will support a three-pronged approach to help Singapore bounce back from Covid-19.
It will address immediate needs to safeguard public health and reopen the economy safely, support workers and businesses, and target specific sectors under stress, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said yesterday.
"The global economy is projected to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels this year, but the recovery is uneven across countries and sectors," he said.
"The Singapore economy is projected to grow between 4 per cent and 6 per cent, with some sectors growing well, and others remaining under stress."
The $11 billion will be used to support the recovery process.
Of this, $4.8 billion will go towards safeguarding public health, including providing everyone who is eligible with free vaccination against the virus.
The national vaccination programme and the medicines for those infected will cost $1 billion.
The bulk of the money allocated to public health - $3.1 billion - will be used for testing, clinical management of those who become sick, and contact tracing to identify people who might have become infected, to prevent spread and clusters forming.
Another $5 billion will be used to support workers and businesses, with the lion's share of $2.9 billion going to the Jobs Support Scheme.
Singapore has already committed $25 billion to this scheme, supporting more than 150,000 employers for up to 17 months.
Of the $2.9 billion allocated to the Jobs Support Scheme, $700 million was announced yesterday, while $2.2 billion had been promised in August last year.
Said Mr Heng: "As the situation improved, I tapered support for sectors that were recovering well, and extended support to harder-hit sectors."
The third tranche of $1.2 billion will be used to support specific sectors that have been especially badly hit by the fallout from the pandemic.
The aviation sector will get $870 million. Another $45 million will go towards helping the arts and culture, and sports sectors; and $133 million has been set aside for the taxi and private-hire car drivers under a relief fund announced in December. But these measures alone will not be enough to secure Singapore's future because "the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered global shifts on the economic, social and political fronts, on a scale arguably greater than the 1929 Great Depression".
"It has set off new domains for competition and cooperation," said Mr Heng, who promised to pump in $24 billion over the next three years to "enable our firms and workers to emerge stronger".
The changing competitive landscape, rising inequalities and importance of sustainability "are all mega-shifts, that will continue to reshape the world".
What will distinguish Singapore from other countries recovering from the pandemic are the investments in the future.
He said: "We will invest in our people, so they can bounce back and be ready for opportunities that arise; and we will invest in our businesses, so they can innovate, build deep capacities and seize growth opportunities.
"Singapore must never stop thinking of the future, even as we respond swiftly to meet current needs. This is how we stay exceptional, and staying exceptional is how we survive," he said.
Efforts will span several years and build on the transformation push started five years ago with the industry transformation maps.
The idea was for integration of the different restructuring efforts, and to deepen partnerships between Government and industry.
The maps span a diversity of activities from healthcare and education to transport, retail and manufacturing.
But the immediate focus, Mr Heng said, is to grow a vibrant business community, help businesses to transform and grow, create new opportunities and redesign jobs.
