Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced in early December that it would be suspending the Confirmed List for its industrial government land sales (GLS) programme for the first half of 2009.

According to MTI, the move was made to continue meeting potential demand for industrial land by making sites on the Reserve List available. There are eight sites on the reserve List under the industrial GLS programme, totalling about 15ha.

Under the reserve list system, a site is only offered for public tender if the government receives an application from a developer who commits to bid for the site at a price that is deemed acceptable.

MTI’s affirmation was made following an announcement by the Ministry of National Development (MND) in October. The latter also said it would suspend the sale of commercial, residential and hotel sites from the Confirmed List for the first half of 2009.

Director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, Nicholas Mak, said bids received from recent government land sales have been quite low, which could possibly have led to feedback that the Reserve List system would be better.

In the second half of 2008 industrial GLS programme, a site on Tampines Industrial Avenue 4 was placed on the Confirmed List. However, in view of the current market sentiment, MTI said it would transfer the site to the Reserve List.

According to MTI, two Reserve List sites at Kallang Pudding Road and Ubi Avenue 4 were sold in October 2008. It is also introducing two new sites to the Reserve List. They are at Kaki Bukit Road 2 and at Woodlands Industrial Park E5/Woodlands Avenue 4.

On top of the three sites mentioned, an additional five sites are being carried over from the second half of 2008 Reserve List, which makes up a total of eight sites.