Singapore-KL high-speed rail terminal to be located at Jurong Country Club site

THE Jurong Country Club (JCC) golf course site has been chosen as the location for the Singapore terminal of the high-speed rail (HSR) link with Kuala Lumpur.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) gazetted the acquisition of the Jurong Country Club site on Monday.

There will be no replacement golf club site given to JCC following the acquisition, SLA chief executive Tan Boon Khai said.

Compensation to JCC will be based on market value as at the date of acquisition in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act. JCC is slated to hand over the land by November 2016.

The HSR terminal is expected to occupy 12 hectares or 20 per cent of the JCC site, with the Singapore Customs, Immigration & Quarantine (CIQ) facility to be located there.

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) chief executive Ng Lang told reporters that the site was chosen given its land size that allows supporting infrastructure and amenities to be built, its proximity to the existing and future MRT networks, and its closeness to the Jurong Gateway commercial hub.

URA will masterplan the development of the remaining 80 per cent of the JCC site surrounding the HSR station.

"We will need to develop around the HSR station an attractive mixed-use development precinct for business and this will include developing uses for offices, hotel, retail, entertainment," he said. This may also include residential developments to facilitate a live-work-play environment.

These new developments will be implemented progressively after detailed planning and technical studies.

Stressing the importance of a critical mass to develop Jurong into the second CBD (central business district), Mr Ng said that URA is looking to create seamless connectivity between the HSR terminal and Jurong Gateway.

According to Land Transport Authority chief executive Chew Men Leong, most of the HSR infrastructure will be constructed underground.