The Land Transport Authority (LTA) today (Mar 31) announced that they will be introducing additional charges to existing road works fees to “encourage productivity and efficiency” for companies which need to disrupt traffic to do road works.
The additional charges is however based on the number of hours and extent of road works, which could minimally double, and potentially triple or more, the original fees of a flat S$165 daily charge. A small 3m-length road work that takes a day of 8 hours during daytime will now cost at least S$610 – nearly quadruple of the original road works fees.
The additional costs increase borne by mostly telecommunication companies, construction contractors, the Public Utility Board and Singapore Power, will be passed to consumers and further inflate the cost of living in Singapore, which is already ranked the most expensive in the world.
This cost increase is the latest after a high profile 30% water price increase and increase of diesel taxes. Earlier in March, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also signalled a price increase for public transport fares.