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The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that Mr Andrew Tan Kok Kiong will be appointed as its Chief Executive with effect from 1 January 2014. He will take over from Mr Lam Yi Young.

Mr Andrew Tan, 46, graduated from King's College, University of London with a First Class Honours Degree in History and holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He began his career with the Singapore Administrative Service in the Ministry of Information and the Arts and was subsequently posted to the Ministry of Defence. He was appointed Principal Private Secretary to Senior Minister (and later Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew from 2002 to 2004, and held senior appointments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment Agency from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2013. He was also the Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities from 1 October 2008 to 1 July 2010. Mr Tan is currently the Deputy Secretary (Special Duties) in the Ministry of Transport and holds a concurrent appointment as Fellow in the Civil Service College.

Mr Lam Yi Young, 41, has been the Chief Executive of MPA since 1 May 2009. During his tenure at MPA, Maritime Singapore continued to grow from strength to strength. Since 2009, Singapore has maintained its standing as the world's busiest port in terms of annual vessel arrival tonnage, and registered record highs in container throughput. Singapore has also remained the world's top bunkering port, and ranks among the world's top 10 ship registries. To strengthen Singapore's hub port leadership, Mr Lam was instrumental in the commissioning of a new Port Operations Control Centre in Changi and the development of Pasir Panjang Terminal Phases 3 & 4. Mr Lam has also spearheaded Singapore's development as a vibrant international maritime centre, which is home to over 130 international shipping groups and 5,000 maritime companies. Through Mr Lam's leadership, MPA has worked in close partnership with industry stakeholders, winning accolades such as the 'Best Seaport in Asia' award for the 25th time at the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards in 2013 and maintaining MPA's top ranking in the 2012 PEP-SBF Pro Enterprise Awards. Mr Lam also led the formation of the Singapore Maritime Institute and steered MPA towards greater public outreach and education made through Singapore Maritime Week outreach activities, learning journeys and partnership with schools, and the opening of the Singapore Maritime Gallery. On the international front, Mr Lam led MPA's efforts to raise Singapore's profile and contributions within the international maritime community, particularly in enhancing the safety of navigation and safeguarding the marine environment.

"The Ministry of Transport would like to put on record its appreciation to Mr Lam Yi Young for his significant contributions in his four and a half years as the Chief Executive of MPA," the MPA said.