Updated, June 19, 2017, 9:40 a.m., to include details on November 2016 tender, gross development value of the site and expected start of construction, as published in The Edge Property Pullout, Issue 784 (June 19, 2017) of The Edge Singapore.

SINGAPORE (June 12): Hongkong Land and IOI Properties Group Berhad today signed a Memorandum of Agreement to jointly develop and manage a prime land of 1.1 hectares located within Marina Bay and the Central Business District of Singapore.

Hongkong Land is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group while IOI Properties is a leading public-listed property developer in Malaysia.

The site to be developed was a “white” site in the Government Land Sales Programme. It was awarded to Wealthy Link, a subsidary of IOI Properties, following a tender in November 2016 which saw the Malaysian property group submit the top bid $2.57 billion ($1,689 psf per plot ratio). The 99-year leasehold site is adjacent to One Raffles Quay, and close to Marina Bay Financial Centre. The development is expected to feature two office towers of 1.26 million sq ft of leasable space and a small retail podium of 30,000 sq ft.

Source: IOI Properties and Hongkong Land

Photo caption: From left to right: Dato’ Lee Yeow Chor, Non-Executive Director; Mr Lee Yeow Seng, Chief Executive Officer; and Tan Sri Dato' Lee Shin Cheng, Executive Chairman of IOI Properties; Mr Ben Keswick, Chairman and Managing Director; Mr Robert Wong, Chief Executive and Mr Simon Dixon, Chief Financial Officer of Hongkong Land at the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement to jointly develop the Central Boulevard land in Singapore. Credit: IOI Properties and Hongkong Land

Upon completion of the proposed joint venture structure, IOI Properties will hold 67% of the joint-venture company while Hongkong Land will hold the remaining 33%.

Moray Armstrong, CBRE managing director of advisory & transaction services, says, “The developer partnership forged here has a product that is ideally placed to capitalise on the Singapore office market cycle which is poised to strengthen through the next few years as the project is constructed. There is limited office supply scheduled to come on line from 2018 through 2021." Armstrong foresee strong demand from a wide spectrum of occupiers including the technology, financial, insurance and professional services sectors. The tenant base in Marina Bay has widened with a more diversified mix of end users that has included fast expanding TMT entities, he adds.

The gross development value of the Central Boulevard site is estimated to be $3.5 billion. Construction is likely to start at end-2017 or 1Q2018.