Parliament Matters

Press Releases

GOVERNMENT LAND SALES PROGRAMME FOR PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND HOTEL DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2007

1. The Ministry of National Development (MND) today announced:

More Sites in Second Half of 2007 to Meet Strong Demand

2. In line with the robust growth of the economy and the increase in demand for various types of properties, MND will inject 15 new sites in the GLS Programme for the second half of 2007. These 15 new sites comprise 8 residential sites, 2 commercial sites, 4 hotel sites and 1 white site. The remaining 26 unsold sites from the first half of 2007 GLS Programme will be carried over to the second half of 2007 GLS Programme (see details of the status of the first half of 2007 GLS Programme in Appendix 1).

3. The GLS Programme for the second half of 2007 will therefore consist of 41 sites, comprising 20 residential sites, 5 commercial sites, 4 white sites, 10 hotel sites and 2 commercial & residential sites. These sites can potentially yield about 8,000 private residential units, 354,000 sqm GFA of commercial space and 6,500 hotel rooms.

Confirmed List for Second Half of 2007

4. The GLS Programme for the second half of 2007 will continue to have sites in both the confirmed list¹ and the reserve list². In response to the market conditions and the need for certain sites to be developed early, a total of 14 sites will be sold through the confirmed list in the second half of 2007. This is higher than the 7 sites placed on the confirmed list in GLS Programme for the first half of 2007.

5. Out of the 14 confirmed sites, 3 are new sites and 11 are sites³ carried over from the GLS Programme in the first half of 2007. The 14 sites are:

(See Appendix 2)

6. The 3 new sites in the confirmed list are the white site at Marina View and the residential sites at Sembawang Park and Boon Lay Way/Yuan Ching Road.

7. Many of the sites are to be sold on the confirmed list so that they can be developed early to facilitate the development of certain key areas. For example, the release of the Marina View site via the confirmed list will maintain the momentum of building up Marina Bay and facilitate the seamless growth of the existing Central Business District (CBD) into the Marina Bay area. It will also help to cater to the demand for prime office space and hotel rooms as the successful tenderer will be required to develop a minimum quantum of office and hotel space.

8. Similarly, the development of the 2 sites at Enggor Street (A) and Enggor Street (B) will help to continue the rejuvenation of the Tanjong Pagar area, which has started with the recent award of the hotel site at Tanjong Pagar Road/Gopeng Street on 4 June 2007 and the forthcoming sale of the other hotel site at Tanjong Pagar Road/Tras Street, the tender of which will close on 3 July 2007.

9. The early development of the 3 sites at Race Course Road/Rangoon Road, Upper Pickering Street and New Market Road/Merchant Road will cater to the increasing demand for hotel rooms, and help to add vibrancy to the Little India, Hong Lim Park and Singapore River areas, respectively. There has also been market interest in these sites.

10. Many of the sites, for example, the residential sites at Simon Road and Boon Lay Way/Yuan Ching Road, the commercial site at Toa Payoh Lorong 6 and the white site at Race Course Road/Rangoon Road, are located near Rapid Transit System (RTS) stations. The sale of these sites will expedite the development of land around RTS stations and help to increase the ridership catchment for the rail system.

11. As 10 sites were earlier in the reserve list for the first half of 2007, namely the sites at Simon Road, Enggor Street(A), Enggor Street(B), Woodlands Ave 2/Rosewood Drive, Elias Road/Pasir Ris Drive 3, Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Race Course Road/Rangoon Road, Serangoon Central, Upper Pickering Street and New Market Road/Merchant Road, they will be withdrawn from the reserve list and released for tender through the confirmed list based on the scheduled launch dates, as indicated in Appendix 2.

Reserve List for Second Half of 2007

12. A total of 27 sites will be placed on the reserve list for the second half of 2007. These sites will provide flexibility for the market to adjust the supply to meet demand. The 27 sites will comprise 15 sites carried over from the reserve list of the first half of 2007 (i.e. excluding the 10 sites transferred to the confirmed list of the second half 2007), and another 12 new sites. These 12 new sites comprise:

(See Appendix 2)

13. Together with the sites on the confirmed list, the 5 new residential sites will provide more choices for private housing development on different parts of the island. The Government is also launching an EC site to replenish the supply of new EC units in the market, and to ensure that ECs remain a viable housing option for those who aspire to private housing.

14. Together with the existing hotel sites from the first half of 2007, the addition of the 4 new hotel sites to the reserve list will provide a good variety of hotel sites to cater to a range of visitors. This will also contribute to meeting the demand for hotel rooms.

15. The commercial site at Jalan Sultan is located within the gazetted Kampong Glam Conservation Area and consists of 17 units of existing buildings to be restored. The sale of this site will facilitate the early restoration of the conserved shophouses in the area and add vibrancy to Kampong Glam Historic District. The amalgamation of 17 shophouses into a single land parcel will make it more attractive for the successful tenderer to put the site to hotel or office use.

16. The commercial site at Tampines Concourse will add to the list of sites which can be developed to meet the demand for office space and will in particular cater to the needs of office users who do not require prime space in a CBD location.

Other Government Supply to be Made Available in Second Half of 2007

17. Apart from the GLS Programme, the Government also makes available other supply of land and properties which provide additional residential, commercial and hotel space. MND works closely with other agencies to coordinate the supply of space from GLS and other sources made available by the Government.

18. The supply of private residential, commercial and hotel space by the Government outside of the GLS Programme in the second half of 2007 is as follows:

19. Much of the supply of commercial space from the sources above can go towards meeting the near term demand for office space.

20. Among the supply, sites will be made available for the development of transitional offices. Such low-rise developments of about 3 to 4 storeys can be built quickly in about one year and at relatively low cost. Suitable sites, including a site at Newton MRT Station, have been identified. The Government is finalising the details of these sites and will release them in due course.

21. The development at Fusionopolis 2B will also cater to businesses which require office space outside the CBD.

22. The announcement of the planned supply to be made available by the Government outside of the GLS Programme will provide a more complete picture of the overall Government supply of space for the second half of 2007.

Supply in the pipeline expected to be completed in next few years up to 2010

23. In order to give a more complete picture of the supply situation in the next few years up to 2010⁴ , URA will release information on the supply of various types of space from all sources of supply of properties.

24. Apart from the potential supply from the GLS Programme and other Government sources in the second half of 2007, there is also additional supply of space from projects in the pipeline which have been initiated in the first half of 2007 or earlier, both from the Government and private land sources.

25. For the private housing sector, a total of about 42,200 new private residential units from projects in the pipeline are expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010⁵ . These units come from awarded GLS sites, other Government projects (e.g. private housing projects at one-north) and private land projects, including new projects from en-bloc sale sites. Of this supply, about 16,400 units will be in Core Central Region, 12,700 units in Rest of Central Region, and 13,100 units in Outside Central Region.

26. For the office sector, a total supply of about 640,000 sqm of office space is expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010. This includes 180,000 sqm of office space from Phase 1 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, which is expected to be completed in 2010. In addition, about 250,000 sqm of Business Park space, mainly from Changi Business Park and Alexandra Distripark, are expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010. Space in business parks (BPs) can meet the needs of some companies, such the backroom operations and data centres of financial institutions and SMEs.

27. For the shop and hotel sectors, a total supply of about 610,000 sqm of shop space and 9,100 hotel rooms are expected to be completed from the second half of 2007 to 2010. This includes the supply of new shop space and hotel rooms from the two Integrated Resorts - Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, which are expected to be completed in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

Re-assignment of GLS Sites by Successful Tenderers and Private Land by Foreign Housing Developers

28. MND had announced in October 2001 that successful tenderers of GLS sites and foreign housing developers of private land can dispose of the land which is vacant or under development, or dispose of their interest in the projects on such land, if the transaction is not of a speculative nature. This measure was extended to all developers of GLS sites awarded on or before 23 June 2003 and foreign housing developers of projects on private land for which the application for the Qualifying Certificate (QC) was made on or before 23 June 2003. In June 2006, MND announced that the deadline for those who wish to apply for such re-assignment was extended to 30 June 2007.

29. The deadline to apply for such re-assignment has now been further extended by one year to 30 June 2008. This will continue to apply to all developers who were awarded GLS sites on or before 23 June 2003, and foreign housing developers of projects on private land for which the application for the QC was made on or before 23 June 2003 (see Appendix 4).

30. All applications for re-assignment of GLS sites are to be made to the appropriate GLS agent. Applications by QC holders for the re-assignment of private land are to be made to the Controller of Residential Property in SLA.

Issued by: Ministry of National Development
Date: 14 June 2007

>>back to top

APPENDIX 1

Status of GLS Programme for First Half of 2007

1. The GLS Programme for the first half of 2007 comprised 7 sites on the confirmed list and 32 sites on the reserve list. To-date, 5 sites have been sold. Three were sold from the confirmed list, namely the residential site at Handy Road, the commercial site at Tampines Grande and the white site at Belilios Road. In addition, the hotel site at Tanjong Pagar Road/Gopeng Street and the residential site at Bishan Street 22/Street 25 were also sold from the reserve list. The tender for the residential site at Dakota Crescent was recently closed on 12 June 2007 and will be awarded soon.

2. Of the remaining 4 sites on the confirmed list, the tenders for the Fairy Point Hill, Beach Road/Middle Road and Marina View sites will close between June to September 2007. The release of the remaining confirmed list site at Choa Chu Kang Road/Woodlands Road will be deferred from June to December 2007, as more time is needed for the relevant agencies to complete the review of the technical requirements for the site.

3. 3 other sites on the reserve list have been triggered for tender, namely, the residential site at Woodsville Close, the hotel site at Tanjong Pagar Road/Tras Street and the commercial site at Anson Road/Enggor Street. The tenders for these sites will close in July 2007. With the sale of the 6 confirmed list sites and 6 reserve list sites, 27 sites remain on the GLS Programme for the first half of 2007.

4. The residential site at Lorong 9/11 Geylang, which can yield about 45 private residential units, will be removed from the GLS Programme for the second half of 2007 as URA is reviewing the land use intention for the site. Hence, the remaining 26 sites, including the deferred confirmed list site at Choa Chu Kang Road/Woodlands Road, will be carried over to the GLS Programme for the second half of 2007.

>>back to top

APPENDIX 2

GOVERNMENT LAND SALES PROGRAMME FOR SECOND HALF OF 2007

>>back to top

APPENDIX 3

PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL UNITS IN THE PIPELINE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED FROM THE SECOND HALF OF 2007 TO 2010

>>back to top

APPENDIX 4

RE-ASSIGNMENT OF GLS SITES BY SUCCESSFUL TENDERERS AND PRIVATE LAND BY FOREIGN HOUSING DEVELOPERS

1. The successful tenderer of a GLS site is normally not allowed to dispose of the land to a single purchaser before completion of the development, i.e. before obtaining Temporary Occupation Permit. He is also required to retain a controlling interest of more than 50% in the development.

2. Foreign housing developers who wish to purchase private residential land or properties for development are required to apply to the Controller of Residential Property in Singapore Land Authority for a Qualifying Certificate (QC) under the Residential Property Act. They are not allowed to dispose of the land or change the shareholding of the company without the prior written approval of the Controller.

3. These restrictions are to ensure that such developers purchase the land for development and not for speculative trading. However the Government has decided that, where the transaction is not of a speculative nature:

4. In seeking approval for re-assignment, an applicant must satisfy the Government that the transaction is not of a speculative nature.

>>back to top

BACK

Last updated on 14 Jun 2007