Singapore legislation
Section 18
Section 18
Director-General may recover cost of new street or of widening, opening, etc., of public street
(1)
When the Director-General has made a new street or has widened, opened, enlarged or otherwise improved a public street, he may recover the cost of acquiring the land for, and of —
constructing the new street; or
widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving the public street,as the case may be, from the owners of the premises —
abutting on the new street or public street, as the case may be; and
which do not front, adjoin or abut on the new street or public street, as the case may be, but access to which is obtained through the new street or the widened, opened, enlarged or otherwise improved public street by means of another street or back-lane, and which, in the opinion of the Director-General, has benefited by the making of the new street or the widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving of the public street.
(2)
Such cost shall be paid by the persons who are the owners when the work is completed according to the frontage of their respective premises in such proportions as are settled by the Director-General.
(3)
If the owner of any such premises is dissatisfied with such apportionment of costs, he may appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.
(4)
The Director-General may, if he thinks fit, decide that in settling the apportionment regard shall be had to the following considerations:
the degree of benefit accruing to any premises by the making of the new street; and
the amount and value of any street works already executed by the owners or occupiers of any such premises.
(5)
The Director-General may, in any estimate of the expenses of street works, include reasonable charges in respect of surveys and superintendence.
(6)
The Government may, if it thinks fit, pay the whole or any part of the expenses of the street works, and the payment of part of the expenses may be made in such a manner as wholly to relieve the owner of any particular premises to the exclusion of other owners or to relieve him to a greater extent than other owners.
(7)
Section 64 shall apply to any sum payable by the owners under this section.
(8)
For the purposes of this section, the construction of a new street may include the widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving any part or parts of any existing private street for the purpose of constructing the new street.[17