LTA gets planning nod to develop office, retail space in Jurong East

Singapore

THE Land Transport Authority has obtained provisional permission to develop office and retail space as part of the Jurong East integrated transport hub (ITH), BT understands.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority granted provisional permission to LTA in November last year to develop 436,369 sq ft gross floor area (GFA) of office space and 54,788 sq ft of retail space. The office and retail space will be seamlessly connected to the Jurong East MRT station and Jurong Bus Interchange.

LTA has previously said that it is studying the possibility of co-locating its own offices with that of its parent, the Ministry of Transport, in the planned ITH in Jurong East.

This would be in sync with efforts to promote decentralisation of government offices away from the city. In addition, Jurong East has been envisaged as Singapore's second central business district.

Some market watchers reckon the office component of the Jurong East ITH may well be large enough to house all of LTA's and MOT's offices under one roof. "That said, there's an argument to having more than one location for BCP (business continuity planning) as the Covid-19 outbreak shows," said a veteran office leasing agent.

MOT currently occupies a few floors at PSA Building in Alexandra Road. LTA has three office campuses - in Hampshire Road next to Little India (where its headquaters are located), Sin Ming Drive and Chai Chee Street.

When contacted, a spokesperson for LTA said the Jurong East ITH will be built on a site of about 2.6 hectares along Jurong Gateway Road. The construction of the hub is expected to be completed around 2027. "A tender has been called for its design and construction," she added.

However, she could not provide an estimate of the development cost for the hub. Jurong East MRT station is an above-ground interchange station for the East-West and North-South Lines. The site for the ITH has overhead tracks for the two lines, which means its development will entail engineering and other complexities, said observers.

LTA's spokesperson could not provide any information on the scheme for the proposed development as the design tender has yet to be awarded.

ITHs typically comprise a bus interchange, an MRT station and a mall - all seamlessly connected to provide commuters convenient access to amenities as part of their transport journey.

To date, 10 such hubs have been completed - in Toa Payoh, Sengkang, Ang Mo Kio, Boon Lay, Serangoon, Clementi, Bedok, Joo Koon, Bukit Panjang and Yishun.

Commuters can look forward to new ITHs in Bidadari, Buangkok and Punggol North which are already under construction.

The ITH in Jurong East is among those under LTA's longer-term plan. Others include Beauty World, Bedok South, Hougang, Jurong East, Marina South, Pasir Ris, Tampines North and Tengah.