Gamuda & partners bid for Singapore land

PETALING JAYA: A consortium comprising Gamuda Bhd, Evia Real Estate (7) Pte Ltd and Maxdin Pte Ltd has placed a tender worth S$345.86 million (RM962.5million) to potentially develop a 99-year leasehold plot of land in Toa Payoh, Singapore.
The bid, the highest of 14 bids submitted for the development, worked out to an average land cost of S$8,130 (RM22,672) per sq m of gross floor area, or about S$755 (RM2,105) per sq ft, said Gamuda.
"It was a very close tender. The top five tenderers' bid prices are within a close range of 4% and we are merely 1% above the second highest bid," said Gamuda head of property division Chow Chee Wah in a statement last Friday.
"If we are awarded the tender, it will be Gamuda's first foray into property development in Singapore," he said.
The tender was conducted by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) and closed on Thursday.
Gamuda said that Toa Payoh was a well-established and matured estate located in the central region of Singapore, with very few private residential projects.
"It is notably one of the earliest public housing estates in Singapore."
The three-acre site in Toa Payoh is situated within walking distance from the North South Line's Braddell MRT station. Development on the parcel will comprise private residential units.
"A decision on the award of the tender will be made after the bids have been evaluated and will be announced at a later date.
"The public tender was launched by HDB on April 29.According to a foreign business daily, Sing Holdings made the second highest bid of S$747.09 per sq ft.
Another bidder, a tie-up between UOL Venture Investments and Singapore Land unit Singland Homes, offered S$740.32 per sq ft per plot ratio for the site.
The foreign business daily reported that Frasers Centrepoint's FCL Tampines Court teamed up with Sekisui House and Keong Hong Construction's KH Capital for a S$740.08 per sq ft bid.
The lowest bid, from Cheung Kong Holdings' Best Desire Investments Ltd, was S$400 per sq ft.
The site in Toa Payoh is said to be able to generate an estimated 535 homes.