New S$50 million fund to encourage innovation in land transport

1. Singapore's land transport leaders were honoured for their excellence and contributions to the land transport sector at the inaugural Land Transport Excellence Awards (LTEA) 2008 presentation ceremony held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel this evening.

2. 14 individuals and organisations were honoured at the Awards Presentation Ceremony (See Appendix 1 for list of winners). The inaugural Awards attracted 60 submissions from 31 corporations in ten categories across various sectors of the land transport industry.

3. Mr Yam Ah Mee, LTA Chief Executive Officer, congratulated the winners and finalists, "Tonight, we honour the outstanding individuals and organisations whose professionalism, commitment to excellence and constant drive to continually create new benchmarks, have helped Singapore establish a land transport system which all Singaporeans can be proud of. We will continue to build on this positive momentum by focusing our attention on encouraging innovation, capabilities and expertise to create a more people-centric land transport system for Singapore."

4. At the Awards ceremony, two individuals were presented with special honours.

5. The Special Contribution Award was presented to Engineer (Er.) Dr Michael Fam Yue Onn, Chairman of the Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRTC) (1983 - 1991). A visionary leader, he led the team to complete Singapore's first MRT project - the North-South-East-West Line. He was also instrumental in building up and developing Singapore's rail and tunnelling expertise by ensuring that such foreign expertise was passed on to Singapore's engineers involved in the project. Today, Singapore's well-regarded engineers continue to share their rail and tunnelling expertise abroad.

6. The Distinguished Contribution Award was presented to Mr Fock Siew Wah, Chairman of the Land Transport Authority (LTA) (1995 - 2002). Mr Fock took the helm as chairman of the newly-formed LTA in September 1995. In doing so, he took on the challenge of delivering the ambitious vision of developing a world class land transport system for Singapore, as set out in the 1996 White Paper - A World Class Land Transport System. Under Mr Fock, LTA made quick progress towards achieving the mission of a world class land transport system, at the same time achieving many firsts in the industry. It was also under the stewardship of Mr Fock that Singapore saw its first Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system, the Bukit Panjang LRT which opened in 1999 and the Changi Airport Extension open in 2002, connecting the airport to the city. Mr Fock also oversaw the preparatory works for the North East Line (NEL), Asia's first automated underground system which began in 1996 and opened in 2003.

Enhancing Innovation in Land Transport

7. To further drive innovation excellence for land transport, Guest-of-Honour Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Raymond Lim announced the launch of LTA's new S$50 million Land Transport Innovation Fund. The aim of this Fund is to encourage industry partners to come forth with innovative ideas and actively participate in shaping Singapore's land transport development for the future.

8. Mr Lim said, "This Fund will strengthen LTA's collaborative efforts with its local and overseas partners, tap on their innovation capabilities and catalyse Singapore's pursuit of innovation excellence in the delivery of land transport".

LTA Cares Fund

9. LTA introduced the LTA Cares Fund in June last year - a charitable fund set up to specifically cater to the transport needs of working adults and students who are physically disadvantaged and are dependent on taxis to commute to work or school.

10. The LTA Cares Fund targets to raise $500,000 over 3 years, and $150,000 has already been disbursed to the recipients in 2007.

11. The LTA Cares Fund continues LTA's tradition of community care and social responsibility with $2.65 million raised since 2002 for causes such as Women's Welfare Association, Bright Hill Evergreen Home, the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Riding for the Disabled Association of Singapore.

Appendices:

Appendix 1 - Land Transport Excellence Awards Winners

Appendix 2 - Land Transport Excellence Awards

Appendix 3 - Land Transport Innovation Fund

Appendix 4 - LTA Cares Fund