Govt's land use plan meets housing needs: expert
By Romesh Navaratnarajah: Latest News: To cope with a larger population that could hit 6.9 million by 2030, Singapore will ramp up land supply to 76,600ha, an increase from the current supply of 71,000ha.
The Land Use Plan released today by the Ministry of National Development (MND) will see 13,000ha or 17 percent of the total land supply allocated for housing.
Although this is less than the 14,800ha (19 percent) expected to be set aside for the country's defence needs, some property experts are confident that the plan will support the housing requirements of Singapore's growing population.
Desmond Sim, Associate Director, CBRE Research said: "The Land Use Plan is a logical response to Singapore's population target of 6.9 million. Land allocated for other uses is now aggressively being diverted to housing."
"New mega towns are being planned, existing towns are being upgraded - these are all established, tried-and-tested ways the government has so far coped with population increases over the years and it is logical for the government to continue with this formula. The concept of de-centralisation has been successful so far and is now firmly established as a major hallmark of land use planning in Singapore."
While there is no immediate impact on the property market as this is a long-term concept plan, Sim expects land values across Singapore to increase over time. He added that plans to renew older estates such as Yishun and Dawson will ensure that capital values of properties in these older mature estates remain steady.
At the same time, interest in land sales will continue to be healthy. Sim said: "Developers will show keen interest in areas such as Punggol Downtown and other areas identified to be major towns. Developers who have bid for land plots in these areas recently will be confident in pushing out the projects given the level of interest expected from potential buyers. New areas such as Biddadari will also draw a lot of interest given its proximity to town." Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@allproperty.com.sg Related Stories: Govt announces land use plan to sustain 6.9m population700,000 new homes by 2030: Govt White Paper
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