SINGAPORE - A new bus depot will be built off Boon Lay Way to support the continued growth of Singapore's bus fleet.

To be completed by the first quarter of 2018, the Ulu Pandan depot can hold about 500 buses and will be equipped with facilities for bus repair and parking, along with offices and rest areas for bus captains.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is calling a tender on Thursday to invite contractors to submit costs proposals for the depot, sited along Business Park Drive.

The bus depot will help accommodate the swelling number of buses on Singapore's roads, a result of the billion-dollar Bus Service Enhancement Programme (BSEP). Since 2012, some 550 buses have been added under the programme, with another 450 to join them by 2017.

The LTA said the upcoming depot will also support the new Government contracting model. Under this model, transport operators will bid for the right to run parcels of routes for a fixed number of years.

Since 2012, two bus parks have been built in Upper Changi and Woodlands to support the BSEP. Two bus depots, one located off Jurong West Avenue 2 and another off Loyang Avenue, are also undergoing construction.