To enhance the public transport system for residents in Jurong West Town area and those working in the Jurong and Tuas industrial estates, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be extending the East West Line from Boon Lay Station westwards into the Jurong Industrial Estate.

This project, known as Boon Lay MRT Extension (BLE) for short, will add another 3.8-km to the existing East West Line. The BLE will be fully-elevated with two MRT stations. One station will be built at Jurong West Street 63, between Jurong Street 61 and Pioneer Road North, and the other station at Joo Koon Circle, near the junction of Benoi Road and International Road. Please see Annex for alignment and station locations.

The overall project cost will be about S$436 million. Construction is targeted to start sometime in the second half of 2005 and is expected to complete in 2009. Tenders for the contract are expected to be called in the first half of 2005.

Currently, the public transport needs of the residents in Jurong West Town area and those working in the Jurong Industrial Estate are served by the Boon Lay MRT Station and Boon Lay bus interchange. With the expected developments planned for the Jurong region, the demand for public transport service will increase.

Mr Ho Meng Kit, Chief Executive, Land Transport Authority said, "The BLE will therefore greatly improve the public transport system in the Jurong area to meet current and future demand for public transport travel. For example, instead of having to make a transfer via a bus service to get to Boon Lay MRT Station, residents in the south western part of Jurong West will be able to access the MRT system more directly with a new MRT station in Jurong West Street 63. Travel time for people working in the Jurong Industrial Estate is also expected to be reduced by up to 15 minutes. This improvement will make it more convenient for people travelling to work in the area."

Land Required

To facilitate the construction of BLE, one full lot and eight part lots, totalling about 28,000 square metres of land will be acquired. The listing of affected lots to be acquired will be gazetted today. Owners, who are affected, will be notified of the land acquisition separately by Singapore Land Authority.