Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings have kicked off their property alliance in the island republic with a S$7 billion (RM17.6 billion) central business district project.
The Marina One development in Marina South is one of two big projects on six plots of land in Singapore to be undertaken under a joint venture called M+S Pte Ltd. The other project is at Ophir-Orchor.
The joint venture stems from a land swap deal that Singapore and Malaysia agreed on in 2010 that included the development of the six parcels of land in Singapore.
In return, Singapore gained six plots of Malayan Railway land - three in Bukit Timah and one each in Tanjong Pagar, Kranji and Woodlands.
Khazanah has a 60 per cent stake in M+S, while the rest is owned by Temasek. M+S' seven-member board is made up of representatives from Khazanah, Temasek and the private sector.
M+S has secured S$5 billion (RM12.6 billion) loans from eight banks in Singapore to partly finance Marina One, which will have two office towers, two residential towers and a dash of retail units.
At the ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, it was revealed that 60 per cent of Marina One will be for office space, 35 per cent residential, while the rest is for retail.
The entire development will have a gross floor area of 341, 000 square metre or 3.67 million square feet, and be completed in 2017.
Four of the six parcels of land parked under M+S will be developed under Marina One.
"So far, the working arrangement (between board members of M+S) has been excellent, so we're pretty happy with the progress of the development," M+S chairman Tan Sri Azman Yahya said.
Azman dismissed the notion that Singapore and Malaysia's delicate diplomatic and political ties will be a key issue to grapple with during the development of M+S' projects.
"Well, not for M+S ... this is a very commercial organisation with commercial objectives. So we have made quite clear that our objective is to bring as much value to the land that we have ..., so its pretty simple.
"It's a simple objective and like I to said, the whole relationship has been excellent," he said.
Sunrise MS Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of UEM Land Holdings Bhd, is handling the marketing of the project while Mapletree Project Management Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, is the project manager.
Recent developments around Marina South ranged between S$2,000 (RM5,000) and S$3,000 (RM7,500) per square foot.
On the development of the two land parcels at Ophir-Rochor, Azman said its designs had been submitted for approval. Details will be revealed soon.
The Ophir-Rochor development will be a combination of residential, commercial and a hotel. There will also be retail spaces.
On whether M+S would consider venturing into projects other than the six parcels of land allotted to it, Azman said such prospect would be beyond the mandate given to the company.
"Our mandate is really to maximise the value of these two (Marina South and Ophir-Rochor) parcels of land and make an iconic project that both parties can be very proud of," he said.
M+S' projects in Singapore are estimated to have a gross development value (GDV) of S$11 billion (RM27.6 billion).
Khazanah and Temasek also have a 50:50 joint venture in Malaysia called Pulau Indah Ventures Sdn Bhd to develop two plots of land in Iskandar, Johor, with an estimated RM3 billion GDV.
By Business Times
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