BT : Industrial site in Ubi up for sale

Business Times - 17 Jun 2010

Industrial site in Ubi up for sale

By UMA SHANKARI

A 3.5-hectare industrial site at Ubi Road 1 is up for sale by public tender, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Tuesday. The plot is one of two industrial sites launched for sale from the confirmed list of the first-half 2010 government industrial land sales programme. The first site, at Tampines Industrial Avenue 4, was sold earlier this month.

The latest site, with a 60-year lease, is 375,150 sq ft and has a 2.5 plot ratio - giving a maximum gross floor area of 937,875 sq ft. Analysts reckon it could fetch $61-75 million, or $65-80 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

'The site is quite attractive,' said Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak. 'But quite a few industrial sites have been sold since the start of the year, so rationally the bids shouldn't be too high.'

Savills Singapore's industrial director Dominic Peters also said interest could be muted as there is already a large supply of strata-titled units in the area. The site is also 'fairly big', he said.

The plot is zoned 'Business 1', which means it can be developed for various uses such as clean and light industry - which includes computer software development, printing and publishing, assembly and repair of computer hardware and electronic equipment.

The Tampines site was sold to Soon Hock Tuas Development, which submitted the highest bid of $33.1 million for the 30-year leasehold plot. That worked out to $62 psf ppr.

The tender for the Ubi Road 1 site closes at noon on Aug 11.

Demand for industrial sites has been strong this year as the economy picks up. And analysts expect demand to grow further as manufacturers expand and institutional funds return to scout for investments.

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