The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has rejected the only bid submitted by the subsidiaries of UOL Group and Singapore Land for a commercial site at Sims Avenue / Tanjong Katong Road because the price is too low.
UOL Venture Investments and SL Development had submitted a joint bid of S$529.3 million, or about S$566 psf per plot ratio, for the 99-year leasehold site.
“We are very disappointed that the tender has not been awarded. We were looking forward to a constructive role in the Government’s long-term plan to decentralise commercial activities outside of CBD which will help ease business costs, reduce undue congestion and revitalise urban nodes,” the consortium said in a joint statement. “The rejection is a setback to that decentralisation plan.”
It said the bid had been a fair one considering “the site’s technical challenges and resultant impact on layout, as well as the recent global economic turbulences and enhanced market risks”.
“The rejection came as a surprise to us … As price consideration was the only reason given for the rejection, it would be useful that for future land tenders, the reserve price be made known to the public as much cost and effort are put into submissions of such a scale.”
The bid for the 2.07-ha site closed on Oct 18.
Source : Today – 5 Nov 2011