Brani Regional Base, starts operation, moving from its previous headquarters in Kallang Basin. 24 March – ITE College East is officially opened. 25 March – The West Coast Highway viaduct is officially opened. 26 March – The Budget Terminal in Changi Airport begins operations. The Ministry of Health announced a new general hospital in Woodlands, which will be ready 10 years after the hospital in Yishun is opened. 31 March – The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority launches the BioPass, a biometric passport that promises higher security. These passports were rolled out on 15 August. April 1 April – National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University become autonomous universities, thus ceasing to be statutory boards. At the same time, Singapore Management University is given more autonomy. The changes are first announced on 12 April 2005. The Deposit Insurance Scheme is launched to compensate deposits, should a bank or finance company fail. All ferry and launch services are relocated from Clifford Pier to Marina South Pier due to the construction of Marina Barrage. 13 April OCBC Bank proposes to sell its stake in Robinsons & Co. to Auric Pacific, a Lippo Group firm. The old Clifford Pier is officially closed, with the pier conserved as part of a future development. Awards to recognise the maritime industry's contributions are announced. 16 April – Former National Kidney Foundation's CEO T.T. Durai was arrested for fraud in the wake of the National Kidney Foundation Singapore scandal. Singapore Democratic Party's secretary-general Chee Soon Juan and his party members went to make public backlash to the ruling People's Action Party, but were sued for defamation by the latter on 22 April, and tasked to pay damages by 26 April. 19 April – The Straits Times Index sets a high of 2585.84 points, surpassing the former record of 2582.94 points from 2000. These record highs continued until 2007. 22 April – The Heritage Trees Register and the Young Arborist Programme are launched for the public to learn about the histories of Heritage Trees and raise awareness on conservation, and foster appreciation of trees in the younger generation respectively. At the same time, the number of Heritage Trees has increased from 35 to 161. May 1 May – The National Family Council is formed to promote families in Singapore. 6 May – Polling day for the 2006 Singaporean general election: The ruling People's Action Party winning 82 out