The city-state of Singapore with a land area of 641.4 sq. km lies at the southern tip of the Asian Continent. Transport's contribution to the GDP of Singapore has increased steadily over the last decade from S$3.5 billion (11.9% of GDP) in 1980 to S$11 billion (12.4% of GDP) in 1994. It is expected that transport will continue to play an vital and active role in the future development of Singapore.
Singapore's strategic geographical location has aided its development as a transportation and communications hub for the Asia-Pacific region. By the end of 1993, Singapore was linked by 63 airlines to 113 cities in 54 countries, with more than 2600 weekly scheduled flights. Changi Airport has consistently been rated as one of the best airports in the world, and about 20 million passengers used the Airport in 1993, a growth rate of 10.4%, Total air cargo handled by Changi Airport in 1993 increased by 16.6% over the previous year to 838,420 tonnes.
Singapore has long established the objective of keeping its land transportation problems within manageable levels. It has about 3000 km of good-quality roads with efficient traffic management measures in place. The demand management policies consist of a mixture of ownership and usage restraints, such as high vehicle taxes, a vehicle quota system, the Area Licensing Scheme and the Off-peak Car Scheme. On the supply side, the road network is continuously being expanded and improved, as the nation continues to advance.
A major pillar of Singapore's land transport policy is the promotion of public transport usage. About two-thirds of the trips in Singapore are now made on the public transportation system which consists of an extensive bus network complemented by a 67 km Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) railway system. Opened in 1987, the MRT system currently has 42 stations, 15 of which are underground, and serves about 670,000 passengers daily. The newly extended Woodland line has just been opened in February 1996, bringing the total network length to 83 km.
Singapore is strategically located at the crossroads of major shipping routes. The port, managed by the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), is the busiest port in the world in terms of shipping tonnage. It is the focal point for more than 600 shipping lines with links to over 800 ports. More than 92,000 vessels called at Singapore in 1993, with a total shipping tonnage of 623.8 million gross registered tons (GRT). In 1994, the container throughput exceeded 10 million TEUs for the first time.