MOTORISTS venturing into the Central Business District (CBD) will find it tougher to find a parking space in the future.

And when they do, it is likely to come at a premium.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA), in its Land Transport Masterplan unveiled on Sunday, said this will happen gradually because upcoming buildings in the CBD have to adhere to regulations tightened in 2002 that restrict the number of parking spaces they can have.

The Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) will be among those hardest hit by the regulations, since many of the other buildings in the CBD were built before 2002.

As a "white site" - a building that can be used for different functions, such as a retail/office complex - it is allowed only one car space per 425 sq m of commercial space.

The MBFC has three office towers with 130 floors in total, ranging from 21,000 sq ft to 45,000 sq ft. This translates into fewer than five and fewer than 10 parking spaces per floor, respectively.

The carpark squeeze will get worse because some old buildings in the area are converting their lots for other uses. The office-space crunch facing Singapore, which has resulted in spiralling rents and some firms moving out of the area, means a carpark earns less money for a landlord.

The Market Street Carpark, which has 704 parking lots, is one that will go. It may be redeveloped into an office building, cutting the number of spaces available in the city.

Despite the coming crunch, the LTA noted that Singapore has lower CBD season-parking charges and more parking spaces, compared to cities like Hong Kong, London and Tokyo.

Currently, season parking in the CBD costs $160 to $200 a month on average, compared to $720 to $850 in Hong Kong.

Workers in the CBD here also have more parking spaces: about 165 per 1,000 jobs, while Hong Kong has only 23.

But others say limiting the number of spaces will have an adverse effect on businesses.

Mr Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at property consultant Knight Frank, said: "Limiting carpark lots might actually increase business costs, especially for those in the sales and marketing industry who need a car to get around."

And with Singapore hoping to attract top-notch talent who will be paid well, it is not reasonable to expect these people not to drive to work, he added.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Apr 1, 2008.