Latest news with #ImmigrationAndCheckpointsAuthority
Independent Singapore
15 hours ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Singapore to acquire 2 Malaysian-owned land parcels as long-term solution to congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint
Photo: Wikipedia screengrab/By Seasurfer at - Own work; transferred from by Shizhao using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 2.0, SINGAPORE: Singapore will be acquiring two land parcels owned by the Malaysian Government as a long-term solution to the chronic congestion at Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP). The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) officially gazetted the acquisition of two vegetated and unused land parcels, covering about 0.79 hectares in total, on Wednesday (Jun 4). In a joint press release, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the SLA stated that they will work closely with the Malaysian Government throughout the acquisition process, affirming , 'We will continue our strong partnership with the Malaysian Government to strengthen connectivity and people-to-people links.' The WCP expansion will be done in phases over the next 10 to 15 years, it added. The first phase of construction is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025). ICA will build an extension at Old Woodlands Town Centre, including new automated clearance facilities for cargo vehicles, arriving cars, and motorcycles. The Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) will also be extended to ease traffic on local roads during peak hours. Subsequent phases will include additional clearance facilities and retrofitting the existing WCP. When complete, WCP aims to reduce peak wait times for vehicles from 60 to 15 minutes, increase automation by adding more automated in-car immigration clearance systems, enhance security checks by conducting them away from the main checkpoint structure, and alleviate congestion around the checkpoint by providing holding areas for traffic within the checkpoint. Last year, daily traveller volume at WCP rose 22% to 327,000 from 269,000 in 2023. In Dec 20, the checkpoint saw a record high of 376,000 travellers in a single day during the year-end school holidays. By 2050, the average daily number of travellers is expected to reach 400,000. /TISG Read also: SMRT fined S$3M for September's train disruption; funds to help low-income families
CNA
30-05-2025
- General
- CNA
ICA adds traffic cones to increase lane visibility after Woodlands Checkpoint accident
SINGAPORE: Just before 4pm on Friday (May 30), two Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) vehicles - a white van and a black SUV - headed towards the departure lanes at Woodlands Checkpoint. A "lockdown" had been imposed at the departure exits to prevent vehicles from entering these lanes. Once the van and SUV came to a stop, about six officers began setting up traffic cones - some with reflective discs attached - along one of the lanes before it was converted into a contraflow lane. This meant that traffic flow on the lane was switched to allow arriving vehicles to enter instead. The cones were placed about 15m to 20m further down the contraflow lane to make it more visible to motorists so that they knew the lane was being narrowed, giving them time to react accordingly and merge safely into the remaining departure lanes. In addition, safety barriers - which have always been deployed during contraflow operations - now have blinker lights mounted on them. These are part of the added safety measures at the land checkpoint after an accident on May 24. Just before 5.30am that day, a departing Singapore-registered car collided with an arriving Malaysia-registered bus along the Causeway. Preliminary investigations found that the contraflow operation was activated before barriers were put in place, which was not in accordance with safety procedures, ICA had said in a statement then. The car driver and his three passengers were taken conscious to the hospital. ICA said it will conduct a safety review into the accident, which "should not have happened", and suspended contraflow operations over the weekend at both land checkpoints at Woodlands and Tuas. The operations resumed earlier this week on Monday. On Friday, members of the media got to witness the behind-the-scenes of the traffic operations. Soon after the cones were set up, this reporter was taken to the operations centre where officers monitored both vehicular and human traffic through the checkpoint on large screens. At about 4.30pm, heavy vehicles from the other side of the Causeway began streaming into the contraflow lane. Senior Assistant Commissioner Maran Subrahmaniyan, commander at the Woodlands Command, told reporters that more than a million travellers cross the borders through the land checkpoints on weekends. He said that ICA has been leveraging technology to better monitor and manage traffic at the land checkpoints, given current infrastructural constraints and increasing traffic volume, especially cars and motorbikes. Contraflow operations at the Singapore side of the Causeway are part of the agency's measures during the daily peak hours to manage traffic congestion. "We have enhanced the safety measures of our contraflow operations to further increase visibility of the contraflow lane. "We have also put in place additional layers of checks to ensure safety protocols are in place before the contraflow operations are activated," SAC Maran said.
CNA
27-05-2025
- General
- CNA
42 cases of illegal animal smuggling detected in 2024, up from 35 in 2023: NParks, ICA
Forty-two cases of animal smuggling were detected in 2024, a 20 per cent increase from 2023. The National Parks Board and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority say 18 of them involved illegally importing live wildlife. This is up from 10 cases in 2023. Associate Professor Adrian Loo, Deputy Director at the NUS Centre for Climate-based Solutions, talks about why it is so tough to curtail animal smuggling. He also reveals where demand for live illegal imports come from.
