3 new industrial sites put on reserve list

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THE Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will continue to suspend the
confirmed list for its industrial government land sales (GLS) programme for the
rest of the year.

This would provide flexibility for the market to
'adjust supply in accordance with the current economic conditions', it said in
a statement yesterday.

But the MTI has put three new sites on its reserve
list to meet potential demand for industrial land.

Under the reserve list
system, a site is offered for public tender only if a developer commits to bid
at an acceptable price.

The three sites are a 3.2ha plot in Woodlands
Avenue 12, a 2.99ha plot in Kaki Bukit Avenue 4 and a 1.24ha plot in Ubi
Road.

All three have 60-year leases and are estimated to become available
in the last quarter of this year.

In the first half of the year, two
reserve list sites - in Woodlands Industrial Park E5 and Kaki Bukit Road 2 -
were triggered.

The Woodlands plot went up for tender recently when an
unnamed applicant undertook to bid at least $12.5 million or $18.57 per sq ft
of potential gross floor area.

This tender closes next Tuesday.

Mr Colin Tan, Chesterton Suntec International's head of research and
consultancy, said the MTI's announcement yesterday is unsurprising given the
uncertain climate, but he added that buyers are starting to emerge.

'There's interest in industrial properties, especially from owner
occupiers who want to own their own business space,' he said.

Perhaps the
perception is that prices are more reasonable and lower than at the peak, he
added, suggesting that more industrial sites may be activated for tender before
the end of the year.

The reserve list for the second half of the year
comprises nine sites with a total area of 19ha, said MTI.

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