The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Singapore. Incumbents President: S.R. Nathan Prime Minister: Goh Chok Tong (until 12 August), Lee Hsien Loong (starting 12 August) Events January 1 January - The Goods and Services Tax is raised from 4% to 5%. 3 January - The Millennia Institute is established from a merger of other Centralised Institutes. 8 January - The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore announced that phone numbers starting with '8' will become available from April after high demand for phone numbers starting with '9'. February 3 February - The Braddell Flyover is opened to traffic. 12 February - The Carlsberg Sky Tower (renamed to Tiger Sky Tower) is opened. 22 February - Plans for a new hospital in Jurong were postponed in favour for one in the north. These plans were elaborated on 22 March, when the Health Ministry announced a Northern General Hospital (now Khoo Teck Puat Hospital) in Yishun. March 9 March - The Singapore Tourism Board launched a new tourism campaign called Uniquely Singapore. 13 March - A new pre-tertiary arts school (now School of the Arts) is announced during a parliamentary debate to cater for students between the ages of 13 to 18. 17 March - The Ministry of Education announced more flexibility for school admissions and an all-rounded school ranking system. 18 March - The Ministry of Education announced that the EM1 and EM2 streams will be merged. The chewing gum ban is partially lifted with the launch of Nicorette, a smoking cessation gum. 26 March - The Arts House is opened. 23 March - The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's Coastal Command Headquarters on Pulau Brani is officially opened by then Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng. 29 March - The M18 and R21 ratings are introduced, among other changes. 31 March - The Old National Library Building at Fort Canning is closed for the building of Fort Canning Tunnel. April 1 April - Two statutory boards, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board are formed. All hawker centres are now managed by the National Environment Agency, taking over roles previously held by the Housing and Development Board and JTC Corporation. 2 April - The Singapore Sports School is officially opened. 13 April – A blackout hits several parts of Singapore including Choa Chu Kang, affecting 80,000 households and lasting almost an hour. Investigations