TEN MILE JUNCTION

TEN MILE JUNCTION

16.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for Law (a) how many tenants have terminated their leases at Ten Mile Junction at Bukit Panjang; (b) what was the loss incurred by the Government in that development; and (c) what are the future plans for Ten Mile Junction.

Prof. Jayakumar: Since its opening in 1999, 32 tenancies have been terminated at the Ten Mile Junction or TMJ. Over the same period, 6 new tenancies were signed. As of today, there are 6 tenants in TMJ occupying about 40% of the available floor space, including a supermarket and a number of tuition centres.

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The Member has asked what was the loss incurred by the Government in this development. Since its opening in 1999, TMJ's annual rental revenue less running costs has averaged about $60,000. As the complex was designed as an integrated mixed development with commercial, infrastructural and residential uses and since the major residential component has not been built, it is premature to estimate what the returns from this investment will be.

As for TMJ's future plans, SLA intends to let out the entire shopping mall to a single master tenant who will then be responsible for all aspects of operating the mall. SLA called for the tender for a master tenant in April 2003. The intention was to position the mall as a "one-stop learning hub". The only bid received then was from one Hypermart. This bid was rejected because it was unable to comply with the use requirements to set aside 50% of the gross floor space for educational use. As such, the tender was not awarded. No bids were received for the second tender held in December last year. Based on feedback from interested parties from these earlier tenders, SLA is now finalising new, improved and more flexible terms and conditions for a tender to be launched by mid-2004 to meet market needs.