COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT BY GOVERNMENT AND STATUTORY BOARDS

Maj Fong Sip Chee asked the Minister for National Development (1) how many ministries and statutory boards have built their own headquarters buildings; (2) how many commercial complexes have been built by the subsidiary companies of statutory bodies; (3) what is the total floor area of all these buildings under the government, statutory bodies and their subsidiaries; (4) how much public funds have been expended in the building of these commercial complexes; (5) how much of the space is owner-occupied; (6) what is the total office-shop space being added to the open market as a result; (7) how much of the surplus space has been leased to the private sector as offices and shops; and (8) what is the average monthly total space which has been left vacant in the last 12 months and how much revenue has been lost as a result.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: The Ministry of National Development does not monitor the construction of headquarters buildings by Ministries and Statutory Boards, or commercial complexes by subsidiary companies of statutory bodies. However, based on the records kept by the Planning Department, two government ministries, one government department and seven statutory boards have built their own headquarters buildings. According to the Ministry's six-monthly surveys of occupancy of offices, the occupancy of these buildings as at September 1984 is as follows: Owner-occupied - 138,112 sq metres Rented out - 36,013 sq metres Vacant - 4,713 sq metres

The above data do not include the MAS Building which has just been completed.

The Ministry is unable to provide details of the commercial complexes built by subsidiary companies of statutory bodies as our planning records do not distinguish these complexes from those built by other companies in the private sector.

The Ministry also does not keep records of the amount of public funds expended in the construction of these buildings, and the revenue lost as a result of the vacant space.