The Land Transport Authority (LTA) called a tender yesterday for a third taxpayer-funded bus depot. The new depot will be built off Yio Chu Kang Road to accommodate Singapore's fast-growing fleet.

Named the Sungei Seletar Depot, the new facility, which is designed to hold 500 buses, will be sited next to the Seletar Expressway and Sungei Seletar Simpang Kiri river.

The project is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2017.

Singapore's public bus fleet has been growing at an accelerated rate since the billion-dollar state-funded Bus Service Enhancement Programme was implemented. The new contracting model, which involves multiple service operators, will likely lead to more buses on the road as companies compete against one another to clinch contracts to run routes.

The LTA said yesterday that the new depot will be equipped with facilities for repair and maintenance as well as a rest area for drivers and a canteen.

The public bus fleet is expected to expand by close to 20 percent from around 4,600 today to 5,400 by 2017.

Besides depots, the government has also built bus parks. Two of the most recently-built bus parks are the Upper Changi Road East Bus Park and Woodlands Bus Park. These were handed over to SBS Transit and SMRT respectively in January 2013.

Two bus depots are still under construction, namely the Bulim Bus Depot and Loyang Bus Depot, which cost $87.5 million and $61.2 million respectively. Each depot can hold around 500 buses. They are expected to be completed this year.