SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Trade and Industry has not received feedback that the recent Causeway jams have disrupted Singapore companies, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing told Parliament on Tuesday (Jan 15).
He was responding to a question by Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera on whether the jams had impacted Singapore businesses.
Advertisement"So while the jams may affect the schedule or timeliness of deliveries, we have not received feedback that it constitutes a major source of business disruption for our companies recently," Mr Chan said.
Travellers experienced heavy traffic congestion on the Causeway between Dec 14 and 16 last year, with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) stating that it was compounded by a bomb hoax, car breakdowns and rampant queue cutting.
If there are significant disruptions to supply chains over land, Mr Chan said businesses will use alternative routes through air or sea freight, or reserve stocks for essential supplies.
"Many of our companies will schedule deliveries to avoid peak periods and factor in additional travel time to buffer for any delays due to such seasonal factors," he added, pointing out that ICA regularly releases notices to anticipate jams, like during school holidays or festive periods.
AdvertisementAdvertisementNevertheless, Mr Chan said economic agencies and businesses work together to diversify supply chains and implement measures to mitigate disruptions caused by "natural disasters, seasonal factors or external circumstances".
"Such measures will include holding certain amount of buffer stock for factors of production, and timing the deliveries to minimise delays by avoiding expected seasonal peak periods," he explained.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely ... such that no one factor can cause a major disruption to our economy."
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...