Written answer by MND on population target used as planning parameter for infrastructure projects

Jan 9, 2023

Question No: 4047

Question by: Mr Leong Mun Wai

To ask the Minister for National Development what is the population target used as a planning parameter for our infrastructure projects.

Answer:

          The Government does not have any population target or seek to achieve any particular population size. This has been explained many times, including in our replies to Parliamentary Questions in October 2020 and July 2021. It was also clarified in a media statement and Factually articles in March and July 2020. We also updated Parliament in March 2018 that given recent trends, Singapore’s total population size is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030. This outlook remains valid today.

2        Infrastructure planning in Singapore is not based on a population target. Instead, we adopt long-term strategies that allow us to cater for a range of possibilities, and regularly review our infrastructure plans to address the factors that affect the built environment. These include social, demographic, economic, technological, and environmental trends, the global environment, as well as the evolving needs of current and future generations of Singaporeans.