THE S$2.4 billion raised from the Government’s first sovereign green bond issuance will be allocated to the upcoming Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line, said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Thursday.

As at March 31, S$700 million – or 30 per cent of the proceeds from the Green Singapore Government Securities (Infrastructure) bond – has been allocated to finance capital expenditure of the two MRT lines, said the ministry as it published the first edition of the Singapore Green Bond Report.

The remaining proceeds of S$1.7 billion are expected to be fully allocated to the two lines by the end of the 2024 financial year, it added.

According to MOF, the development of the two lines will significantly reduce land transport emissions and help Singapore achieve its target of having 75 per cent of all journeys made on public transport.

When fully operational, the Jurong Region Line (JRL) and Cross Island Line (CRL) are estimated to result in annual carbon savings of between 100,000 and 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, equivalent to removing 22,000 cars from Singapore’s roads, according to an impact report by environmental, social and corporate governance research and analytics firm Morningstar Sustainalytics.

This represents an estimated emissions reduction of 81 per cent.

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The report, which was commissioned by MOF, said the allocation of green bond proceeds to the JRL and CRL will result in a financed impact of between 1,200 and 1,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions avoided every year.

Announced in 2013 and costing around S$2.43 billion so far, the 24km JRL is set to open in three stages from 2027 to 2029. Daily ridership is expected to grow from 200,000 to more than 500,000 with the development of the Jurong Innovation District, Tengah town and Jurong Lake District.

The construction of the CRL has been split into three phases.

Once completed, it will stretch more than 50 km and serve more than 600,000 commuters in the eastern, western and north-eastern parts of the island in its initial years.

Phase one is 29 km with 12 stations and will be completed by 2030. The 15 km phase two, comprising six stations, will be completed in 2032.

No details have been released for phase three. THE STRAITS TIMES