Bridge under water

Market watchers say the agreement reached between the Singapore and Malaysian government to relocate Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is a win-win strategy.

By PropertyGuru.com.sg

Historic milestone

Analysts say the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station could be developed into a mix of office as well as residential uses given the site’s good location and generous size by 2014, at the earliest.

The current Malayan Railway station site located at Tanjong Pagar provides tremendous opportunities for commercial and residential development as such good sized land in a prime area is scarce.

“Unfortunately, there’s no available information of how large the area is. Total area is likely to exceed two hectares in land area. Office (with lower floor retail) and residential uses could be a viable development mix for the combined site,” says Donald Han, managing director for Cushman & Wakefield Singapore.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, the current building sits on a commercial land zoning of 4.2 plot ratio while the adjoining site, where the tracks are, is zoned residential.

“Assuming project construction gets underway during second half of 2011, the new development will only be completed sometime in 2014 earliest,” says Han.

In May, the Malaysian and Singapore government made a historic announcement on their decision to move the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) station at Tanjong Pagar to the Woodlands Train Checkpoint (WTCP) by 1 July 2011.

This thorny issue which dates back since the Mahathir and Lee Kuan Yew era has led to often difficult negotiations and strained ties between the two countries.

The historic announcement had market watchers saying it is pro-business and will only strengthen bilateral ties between the two neighbours and result in a win-win situation.

Tanjong Pagar railway station

Points of agreement

Under the deal ironed out by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia’s Najib Razak, both leaders agreed that a Malaysia-Singapore joint company, known as M-S Pte Ltd, is to be established before Dec 31 this year to develop the lands vacated by KTMB.

The company will be set up by Malaysia's Khazanah Nasional Berhad and the Singapore government's investment arm, Temasek Holdings Limited, with each holding a 60 percent and 40 percent equity respectively.

KTMB’s lands in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands and three additional pieces of land in Bukit Timah will be vested in the company for joint development.

Together, these lands account for a total area of 271 hectares.

The developed KTMB lands could in turn be swapped, on the basis of equivalent value for pieces of land in Marina South and Ophir and Rochor Roads.

Land swap deals

But what will happen should a land swap occur?

Analysts say in such a case, the lands in Ophir and Rochor Roads could be developed into commercial, residential or for hotel uses.

“Ophir and Rochor Roads are designated  “white sites” which allows commercial, residential or hotel uses. A combination of these will be ideal,” says Han.

The same could occur in Marina South say analysts although cautioning that this particular land’s use has yet to be revealed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

“Marina South location has not been revealed though I suspect the same designated uses will be allowed,” says Han.

Meanwhile, the Tanjong Pagar site could be developed by the joint venture company or sold to a third party developer, which could in turn draw fierce biddings as the site is situated in a very prime area.

The Tanjong Pagar site, which is located in the southern part of Singapore, is on prime land.

It is also near a huge shopping mall Vivocity and the city centre.

Analysts say a land swap could possibly occur as the sites offered at Marina South and Ophir/Rochor Roads are prime strategic sites.

“I think land swap option is the fairest and probably the way to go since it allows KTM with a continued inner city hub location for its passenger boarding and drop off points. For Singapore, the location of these swap sites can be further harnessed into a magnet for complementary uses such as retail or entertainment to tap onto the huge traffic flow generated by the rail traffic,” says Han.

Analysts, however, point out that the current Malayan Railway site is under a 999-year leasehold title deed while the sites being offered as land swaps by the Singapore government are of 99-year leasehold.

“The approach to appoint independent valuers will help to iron out differences in tenure, location and so on,” says Han.
 

The station may be converted into a museum

Consumers’ reaction

Regardless whether the Tanjong Pagar site will be sold to a third party or jointly developed or swapped, consumers say they want to see the main colonial building preserved due to the building’s historical significance and its sense of nostalgia.

“I would like the building to be retained and converted into a boutique hotel. It is important to preserve the buildings charm and to keep the rail tracks,” says Dean Shams, a publicist.

“I want it to be developed into a hotel or a shopping mall with the train station as the main feature,” Benjamin Ng, a lecturer said.

Others say a mixed-use development is the way to go but with the main building still kept intact.

“We could preserve the historical site for future generation. At the same time, since it is located in a town area, we could develop some parts of the station to office spaces to mitigate the present shortage concern,” says Mohammed Abdul Razak, an administrative executive.

A Facebook campaign site has also been set up calling for the place to be turned into an art museum.

“I would like to the history of Tanjong Pagar to be preserved with an art museum with a little bit of Malay history. Trains could also be preserved as museums,” says Hamidah Razak, an environmental, health & safety specialist.

Others, however, want the authorities to preserve the building as it is – something that will not likely happen.

“I would like to see the station remain as it is as it holds so much memories for me,” says Ai Man, a designer.