Six new industrial sites were put on the Government’s land sales list

Six new industrial sites were put on the Government’s land sales list yesterday.

The sites, with a total area of 11.7ha, will be released in the second half of this year.

Two of the plots are on the confirmed list, which means that they will be put up for sale on a pre-determined date.

The first, a 5.1ha site in Sin Ming Lane, will be released in August. Another 2.1ha site in Jalan Tepong will follow in September.

The remaining four sites will be made available on the reserve list. To trigger a public tender for them, a developer will have to submit an acceptable minimum bid to the Government.

The sites comprise a 0.8ha site in Toa Payoh at the former Playfair Primary School, a 1.5ha plot at Yishun Avenue 6, a 1.2ha parcel at Ubi Avenue 4, and a 1ha site at the junction of Pioneer Road and Tuas Avenue 11.

In general, these four plots ‘appear more attractive than the two confirmed sites’, said Ms Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International.

This is because they are mostly smaller, more centrally located and more suitable for general business uses. All four sites on the reserve list can be partly used as substitutes for office space.

She added that the Toa Payoh and Ubi parcels are particularly appealing.

But she also said it is unlikely that these plots will help alleviate the current office shortage.

‘By the time they are sold and completed, they are likely to coincide with the completion of the Business and Financial Centre as well as all the other office redevelopments,’ she said.

‘By then, the office supply crunch would have ceased somewhat.’

Source: The Straits Times, 28 June 2007