GOVERNMENT LAND SALES PROGRAMME FOR PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL AND HOTEL DEVELOPMENTS FOR SECOND HALF OF 2009

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

a The continued suspension of the Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the second half of 2009 (2H2009); and

b A reduced supply of commercial space and no new supply of private residential units and hotel rooms from Government agencies outside the GLS Programme for 2H2009.

Continued Suspension of the Confirmed List for Second Half of 2009

2 In October 2008, the Government suspended the Confirmed List [1] of the GLS Programme for the first half of 2009 (1H2009) and placed all sale sites on the Reserve List [2].

3 Given the prevailing market uncertainties, the Government will extend the suspension of the Confirmed List of the GLS Programme for another 6 months, i.e. there will be no Confirmed List in 2H2009. This will provide flexibility for the market to adjust supply in accordance with the current economic conditions.

4 There are some recent positive signs of activity and investment interest in the property market. For example, two Reserve List sites in the 1H2009 GLS Programme have been successfully triggered for sale [3]. We have also received enquiries from some developers on other sale sites in the Reserve List. In addition, there has been increased take-up of new private residential properties. The quarterly take-up of 2,552 units of uncompleted private housing in first quarter of 2009 is more than six times the take-up in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the highest since the third quarter of 2007. The Government will monitor the situation closely before reviewing in late 2009 whether to suspend the Confirmed List further.

Reserve List for Second Half of 2009

5 There are a total of 37 remaining sites on the Reserve List of the 1H2009 GLS Programme [4]. One of these sites, namely the White site at Outram Road / Eu Tong Sen Street, will be removed from the GLS Programme with immediate effect as it will be affected by future infrastructure works. The remaining 36 sites will be carried forward to the Reserve List of 2H2009.

6 There are 2 new sites on the 2H2009 Reserve List - a residential site at Bartley Road / Lorong How Sun and a commercial & residential site at New Upper Changi Road / Bedok North Drive.

7 The residential site at Bartley Road / Lorong How Sun is located next to the new Bartley Circle Line (CCL) Station. Placing the site in the Reserve List of 2H2009 GLS Programme will provide opportunity for early development of the site and increase the ridership catchment for the CCL.

8 The sale and development of the commercial & residential site at New Upper Changi Road / Bedok North Drive will form part of the rejuvenation plans for Bedok Town Centre. A new bus interchange will be incorporated into the proposed development.

9 In all, the Reserve List of the 2H2009 GLS Programme will offer 38 sites to provide sufficient choices for the market to initiate the appropriate level of supply. These sites can potentially yield about:

a 8,655 private residential units;

b 448,550 sqm Gross Floor Area (GFA) of commercial space; and

c 4,430 hotel rooms.

See details in Appendix 1.

Other Government Supply to be Made Available in Second Half of 2009

10 Apart from the GLS Programme, the Government also makes available other supply of land and properties through its various agencies. MND works closely with other agencies to coordinate such supply of space together with the supply from the GLS Programme.

11 There will be no additional supply of private residential units and hotel rooms, other than those from the GLS Programme, for 2H2009. The supply of space outside the GLS Programme comprises about 28,000 sqm GFA of commercial space, as compared to a planned supply of about 40,000 sqm GFA in 1H2009. These comprise projects to meet strategic economic or development objectives, and some of these projects also have pre-committed end-users. The planned commercial space supply in 2H2009 includes:

a Commercial space at one-north (about 7,000 sqm GFA); and

b Localised retail facilities at Sentosa, community centres, parks and MRT stations.

12. 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 2H2009.

[1] Sites under the Confirmed List are released for tender at a pre-determined date, without the need for the sale to be triggered by an application.

[2] Under the Reserve List System, the Government will release a site for sale if an interested party submits an application for the site to be released for tender with a minimum price that is acceptable to the Government.

[3] The two sites include a hotel site at Short Street and an industrial site at Woodlands Industrial Park E5. The latter was made available for sale under the Reserve List of MTI’s Industrial GLS Programme for 1H2009. Tender for the Short Street site will close on 10 June 2009 and tender for the Woodlands Industrial Park E5 site is scheduled to be launched in mid June 2009.

[4] There were originally 38 sites in the Reserve List of the 1H2009 GLS Programme for private residential, commercial and hotel developments. One of these sites, a hotel site at Short Street, was successfully triggered and released for sale on 15 April 2009.

Related Documents

GLS Press Release Appendix.pdf [23.8 KB]