North-East Line extension to open in 2023 instead of 2030

The North-East Line extension will open in 2023 - seven years ahead of its expected opening date of 2030. The one-station extension will span about 1.6km. It will serve the Punggol North area and the station is likely to be called Punggol Coast station. Second Minister for Transport Ng Chee Meng announced this on Wednesday (7^th June) during a tour of the Tuas West Extension on the East-West Line, which will open later this month.

The Land Transport Authority had said earlier that the extension of the North-East Line will be built in tandem with the developments there so that future residents in Punggol North will have train access to the city centre, as well as other parts of Singapore. Punggol North will be a mixed-used area and is slated to be an 'enterprise district' housing digital and cyber-security industries. It will also be the first district where new planning concepts will be applied and a master developer will be appointed to take charge of the entire district.

In Punggol North's case, JTC Corporation will be appointed. The district will include the new Singapore Institute of Technology campus, which will be located next to JTC's business parks. "This will benefit residents and students in the Punggol town area, especially in the northern part of Punggol," said Mr. Ng.