Chee Hong Tat: Additional 20K COEs will give govt more flexibility to keep its promise to increase COE supply before 2026

SINGAPORE: Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat answered questions different MPs raised on Tuesday (Nov 12) regarding the upcoming additional 20,000 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) to be injected starting next February.

The Land Transport Authority announced that there will be more COEs across all categories of vehicles over the next few years on Oct 29.

A COE, which is good for 10 years, is required for vehicle ownership and usage in Singapore.

The number of vehicles has been strictly regulated in the city-state, and the announcement that so many COEs will be made available is the first for Singapore.

The price of owning a vehicle in Singapore is among the most expensive around the globe since, in addition to the price of a car, a COE, which can cost around S$100,000 for Category A vehicles, must be paid.

Mr Chee said that the injection of new COEs helps fulfil the promise to increase COE supply before a peak is projected in 2026.

He reminded the House that authorities had earlier said the quota for Categories A, B, and C would keep going up every quarter before reaching the projected peak supply in 2026.

“The additional COEs will give us more flexibility to meet this commitment and further increase the COE supply in the next few quarters before we reach the peak supply,” he said.

In his responses to questions from MPs, the Transport Minister touched on the effect the additional injection will have on COE premiums.

He said that the greater supply of COEs should aid in moderating premium prices, though he added that this also depends on the premium demand.

Mr Chee noted that the demand has been strong, particularly with individual Singapore buyers.

For lighter Category A vehicles, the most recent COE price on Nov 6 was set at S$$99,889, while for heavier Category B vehicles, it was at S$108,001.

Category C goods vehicles and busses COEs were priced at S$68,340 and for motorcycles in Category D, the price was S$9,089.

As for the open Category E, which excludes motorbikes, the premium was set at S$109,000.

Nevertheless, Mr Chee underlined the government’s commitment to a car-lite society, one that has public transport as its main means of getting around.

This is why expanding bus and train networks remains a priority, and public transport journeys will continue to be subsidized.

He said, however, that this does not mean there will be no cars but that traffic congestion will be managed well.

“It’s about increasing the ‘walk, cycle, ride’, and the public transport mode share,” The Straits Times quotes the minister as saying. /TISG

Read also: Singapore set to flood roads with 20,000 new COEs amid growing traffic concerns