Kampong Bugis, River Valley GLS sites up for application

Singapore

THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has made available for application a white site in Kampong Bugis and a hotel site in River Valley Road on the government's reserve list.

The sites, which are on the reserve list in the second-half 2019 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, were recently carried over to the first-half 2020 GLS programme.

The Kampong Bugis site, at the mouth of Kallang River, will be released for sale to a master developer to allow for a comprehensive master plan, development in phases, and the implementation of district-wide "car-lite" initiatives and sustainable urban solutions.

The 8.2 hectare (ha) site can potentially yield up to 4,000 housing units and 50,000 sq m of gross floor area (GFA) for complementary uses such as retail, serviced apartments and offices and for community use.

The site has a maximum GFA of 390,000 sq m.

The URA has also drawn up an option scheme, which is a flexible-payment scheme and phased-development approach to enable the chosen developer to phase the site's development according to market demand, and so bear lower upfront costs and risks.

The entire precinct is estimated to be completed over 11 to 13 years.

The 1.02 ha River Valley site, located above Fort Canning MRT station and situated between Fort Canning Park and the Singapore River, has a maximum GFA of 28,666 sq m and could yield 530 hotel rooms. It has been envisioned as a distinctive waterfront landmark.

To encourage exceptional concept proposals for the two sites, URA said it will introduce a "top-up" option - which is a modification of its usual Concept and Price Revenue tender approach.

Under the existing Concept and Price Revenue tender approach, tenderers submit their concept proposals and tender prices separately.

In the first stage of evaluation, compelling concept proposals are shortlisted for the next stage, when evaluations are based only on price.

This means the shortlisted tenderer with the highest bid will secure the tender.

With the "top-up" option in force, a party that submits an exceptional concept and is shortlisted for the next stage but is found not to have been the highest bid will be offered the chance to top up the bid to match the highest bid in order to snag the tender. This option will be offered only "very selectively", to only one or two proposals, said the URA.

The URA said: "This is to strongly incentivise tenderers to draw up exceptional concept proposals, as they would have a greater chance of securing the tender while achieving the best possible development outcomes for these two sites."

If the tenderer behind an outstanding concept proposal does not take up the offer to raise its bid, the URA will offer the top-up option to the next highest-ranked concept proposal.

If no outstanding proposals are identified, the tender will go to the highest bidder.