New road projects will increasingly need to be built underground because of limited land and the densely built-up environment, Transport Minister Raymond Lim said at an event last night to mark the launch of Fort Canning Tunnel (FCT).

The $34 million, 350-metre tunnel under Canning Rise and Canning Walk was opened this morning. It allows traffic from Stamford Road, after the intersection with Armenian Street, to connect directly to Penang Road.

'We built this new three-lane road to provide direct access for cars travelling from Marina Centre and the New Downtown to the Orchard area, and to support existing developments such as Singapore Management University, as well as those to be built in future,' said Mr Lim in a speech.

The new road extends from the junction of Stamford Road and Armenian and Queen streets all the way to Penang Road. It includes the realignment of Stamford Road between Queen and Bencoolen streets to run between two SMU buildings - the School of Accountancy and the Li Ka Shing Library.

Mr Lim said that during the design and construction of the project, the Land Transport Authority had to strike a balance between expanding the road network and protecting the natural environment.

'A key challenge was how to provide this direct access to the Orchard area with minimal disturbance to the peace and tranquility of Fort Canning Park,' he said. 'Adopting a tunnel option for this link has allowed us to free up additional land for development, while still preserving this oasis in the heart of the Civic and Cultural District.'

Mr Lim said investing in road infrastructure remains an essential part of Singapore's efforts to develop a high-quality urban transport system.

'However, as is clearly reflected in this case, future road projects increasingly need to be built underground given Singapore's limited land and densely built-up environment. Such underground roads are more expensive to build and maintain.'

Mr Lim said land scarcity is not the only limit to road growth. To maintain a high-quality urban environment, the government has taken a holistic, multi-pronged approach to ensuring mobility.

'Besides increasing road capacity, we also have to optimise its use using congestion management tools like the ERP, integrate land use and transport planning, manage the growth of private vehicles, and make public transport an attractive option,' he said.

'These are all essential elements of a sustainable land transport system, and they must work together.'

He stressed that the centrepiece of Singapore's land transport must be public transport, as it is the most space-efficient way to move large numbers of people in a city.

To make public transport more attractive and competitive with car use, reliability and speed are two key factors, he said. They can be achieved by giving buses greater priority and introducing more niche buses with higher fares but superior service.

As a result, the full-day bus lane scheme in Orchard Road will be extended from April to other areas in the CBD - Eu Tong Sen Street, Hill Street, Victoria Street, Bras Basah Road and Somerset Road.