News Releases

31 October 2008

Adjustments to the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme and Lifting of Ban on Conversion of Office Space in the Central Area to Other Uses

Since announcement of the second half 2008 GLS Programme in June, the global economic landscape has changed significantly. While Singapore’s fundamentals remain sound, the global economic uncertainties have affected Singapore’s economic outlook, as well as the outlook for the property market.

In view of the current uncertainties and to allow the market time to assess and respond to the dynamic economic conditions, the Ministry of National Development (MND) announced today the following changes to the land release plans which will take immediate effect:

a        The GLS Programme for the remaining of the year will be adjusted, with most of the Confirmed List sites transferred to the Reserve List;

b        The Confirmed List for the first half 2009 GLS Programme will be suspended; and

c        The existing ban on conversion of office space in the Central Area to other uses will be lifted.

Adjustments to the GLS Programme

As at 31 October 2008, there are 7 remaining Confirmed List sites in the GLS Programme. Tenders for 3 of these remaining sites have been launched but have yet to be closed. These 3 sites are the transitional office site at Mountbatten Road, the white site at Rochor Road / Ophir Road and the Executive Condominium (EC) site at Punggol Road/ Punggol Field. Tenders for the first 2 sites are now cancelled and the sites will be transferred to the Reserve List with immediate effect. (See Appendix 1 for details.) The tender for the EC site will proceed as scheduled as there are currently no new EC units available for sale. This tender will close on 11 November 2008.

Tenders for the 4 remaining Confirmed List sites have not been launched yet. These include the residential site at Yio Chu Kang Road / Seletar Road, the hotel site at Bukit Chermin Road, the commercial site at North Bridge Road / Stamford Road and the landed housing site at Sembawang Greenvale (Phase 3). The first 3 sites will be transferred with immediate effect to the Reserve List. The remaining site at Sembawang Greenvale will be removed entirely from the GLS Programme, as it comprises small land parcels intended for sale via auction and hence is not suitable for the Reserve List.

Besides the 7 Confirmed List sites mentioned above, there are 2 other Confirmed List sites which were tendered out in 2008 but not awarded. These are the residential site at Tampines Avenue 10 and the transitional office site at Mohamed Sultan Road. These 2 sites will also be placed on the Reserve List with immediate effect.

Under the Reserve List system, the Government will only release a site for sale if an interested party submits an application with a minimum price that is acceptable to the Government. The retention of these sites in the Reserve List of the GLS Programme will provide the market with flexibility to trigger supply in response to changes in economic outlook.

Separately, the site at Hillview Avenue, which was originally scheduled to be made available for sale via the Reserve List in October 2008, will be deferred. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is reviewing the planning parameters for the site. The Government will announce in due course when the site will be available for sale.

Suspension of the Confirmed List for the First Half 2009 GLS Programme

There will be no Confirmed List sites for the first half 2009 GLS Programme. Sites will only be made available for sale through the Reserve List. Details of the first half 2009 GLS Programme will be announced by December 2008.

Allowing Conversion of Office Space in the Central Area to Other Uses

On 21 May 2007, URA announced that it would temporarily disallow the conversion of office space in the Central Area to other uses until 31 December 2009. This policy was put in place to curb the depletion of the existing stock of office space amidst strong demand for office space from businesses. The policy helped mitigate the worsening of the office space crunch situation in the second half of 2007 and in 2008.

Since then, more supply of office space has come on-stream or will be coming on-stream. This includes projects initiated by the Government, such as transitional office developments and the leasing of vacant state properties for office use. New office developments have also been initiated on private land. As at 3Q2008, there was a total pipeline supply of 61,000 sqm of new office that will be ready for occupation by end 2008 and another 281,000 sqm of new office space that is expected to come on-stream in 2009. Given that there is an adequate supply of office space coming into the market over the next 2 years, there is no need to continue with the ban on the conversion of office space to other uses in the Central Area. The ban will be lifted with immediate effect.

Regular and Timely Review of Land Supply

The above measures are introduced to allow the market to better respond to the current dynamic economic conditions. The Government will continue to monitor the demand and supply situation for the various property sectors closely and calibrate the GLS Programme accordingly.

Appendix 1

Status and adjustments to the confirmed list sites for 2008