Singapore will stop increasing the number of vehicle on its road starting next year as it tries to tackle growing land constraints.
The government will cut the annual growth rate for cars and motorcycles to zero from 0.25 percent starting in February, the transport regulator said on Monday.
"In view of land constraints and competing needs, there is limited scope for further expansion of the road network," Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a statement on Monday.
Nearly 12 percent of land area in Singapore, one of the world's most expensive places to own a vehicle, is taken up by roads and officials want to ensure the most productive use of the remaining space.
The government will continue to invest $20 billion in new rail infrastructure, $4 billion to renew, upgrade and expand rail operating assets, and another $4 billion in bus contracting subsidies over the next five years to improve public transport, LTA said.
Singapore requires car owners to buy permits -- called Certificates of Entitlement (COE) -- that allow holders to own their vehicles for 10 years.
The COE quota for the next three months from November 2017 to January 2018 will be 25,913, based on the existing 0.25 percent vehicle growth rate.
"The adjustments to the vehicle growth rate are not expected to significantly affect the supply of COEs, as the COE quota is determined largely by the number of vehicle deregistrations," LTA said.
