The Government has reduced industrial land supply for the second half of 2019, as a global manufacturing slowdown and rising trade tensions lowered Singapore’s growth outlook.

Under the Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme for the second half of 2019, the Government will release four sites in the confirmed list and six sites in the reserve list, with a total site area of 9.98ha, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced yesterday.

This is down from five sites in the confirmed list and seven sites in the reserve list, amounting to a total supply of 11.86ha for the first half of this year. For the second half of last year, total industrial land supply from confirmed and reserve list sites was higher still at 12.59ha.

Mr Desmond Sim, CBRE’s head of research for South-east Asia, said the latest confirmed list showed a 35.2 per cent cutback in potential supply to 0.58 million sq ft from IGLS programme for the first half of this year.

This is the lowest since the last peak in the first half of 2013 (3.04 million sq ft), “reflecting the authorities’ consistent efforts to trim supply”, he said.

Correspondingly, the reserve list showed a 15.3 per cent reduction in potential supply from the programme in the first half of this year, to 1.55 million sq ft, he added.

MTI said the Government will “continue to release sufficient land through the IGLS programme to ensure an adequate supply of industrial space in Singapore”.

Confirmed list sites are launched according to schedule, regardless of demand, while those on the reserve list are put up for tender when a developer makes an offer of a minimum purchase price that is acceptable to the Government.

In the latest launch, the four confirmed list sites are zoned “B2” for heavier industrial use with a tenure of 20 years. They are located in Tampines North Drive 5, Tuas West Avenue, Woodlands Industrial Park and Jalan Papan.

The six reserved list sites meanwhile are all also zoned “B2”, four of which have tenure of 20 years, and two with tenure of 30 years. Half of the sites are available, with the remaining three to be made available in July, September and December on estimate.

Two sites are located in Kaki Bukit Road 5, while the others are at Gul Circle, Tuas Avenue 6, Tuas South Link 3 and Tuas Bay Drive. Three of the sites were previously on the reserve list for the first half of this year.

News Source: The Straits Times Singapore, 29 June 2019