The former Seh Chuan High School (树群中小学校) at 9-3 Jalan Seh Chuan in Upper Bukit Timah had received 7 bids, of which 4 were fairly strong bids above the guide rent of $73,100 per month. The highest bid was $90,058 from Dimensions Commercial School Pte Ltd. Some of the other bidders were existing SLA tenants such as Etonhouse International Holdings and Chatsworth International School Pte Ltd. (Please see Annex A for details of the tender closing’s provisional results).

2 The property which has a gross floor area (GFA) of about 4,222sqm was offered for tender in October for use as a commercial/foreign system school on a 3 year tenancy with an option to renew for 2 further terms of 3 years each (i.e. 3+3+3 years) subject to terms.

3 Dimensions Education Group is also a tenant of another State property at No. 58 Lowland Road tenanted from SLA. The school operated by them offer courses on languages, business, management, hospitality, accounting and Marketing leading to Certificate, Diploma, Higher Diploma and Degree qualifications..

4 Said Mr Teo Cher Hian, SLA’s Director of Land Operations (Private) Division (张子贤, 土地与房产私租处长): “The response for this property was encouraging. From our experience, we note that those in the education business take a longer view and react less to short-term fluctuations. This market sector has remained active with strong bids. We believe that school operators are likely to take up new premises either for expansion or new operations in anticipation of stronger demand when the economy improves.”

5 From January to October this year, SLA has awarded 11 properties with education as one of the approved uses. This is about 50% more than the same period last year.”

Former Mee Toh School opens for tender under Ideas Tender Scheme today

6 Today, SLA has also launched another former school at 375 Race Course Road. This property comprises of a few blocks of buildings ranging from 1 to 4 storeys and has a hall and basketball court. It has an estimated GFA of 2,650 sqm and is being offered on a tenancy of 3 plus 3 plus 2 years up to 2017, subject to terms. The guide rental is $69,400 per month.

7 The property is near the Farrer Park and Boon Keng NEL Stations, as well as shopping centres such as Mustafa Centre and Serangoon Plaza, and several restaurants. Please see Annex B for a photograph and location of the school.

8 Although the property comes with a range of approved uses such as office, shops, restaurant/F&B/café, commercial school/ privately funded school/ foreign systems school, arts/dance/drama studio, childcare/student care/kindergarten, student hostel and association, the property is tagged to SLA’s Ideas Tender Scheme because SLA believes that there is still potential for bidders to suggest other innovative uses for the property. To date, SLA has already received about 16 enquiries regarding the property.

9 The Ideas Tender scheme was launched by SLA as part of its pro-business efforts on 26 August 2005. It aims to recognise and encourage businessmen and entrepreneurs to pursue innovative ideas for uses of State properties, instead of restricting them to the pre-approved uses. Under this scheme, the successful tenderer's idea will only be revealed at an appropriate time after being awarded the tender. This scheme is in line with the First Mover Framework and it safeguards the interest of all tenderers while allowing new or alternative ideas to be considered.

10 As of 10 November 2008, about 55 bids were received under the Ideas Tender scheme. These bids include the basic offers and alternative bids. Examples of properties that were awarded under this scheme included properties at Tanglin Village.

11 The site showround for 375 Race Course Road will be on 10 Dec 2008. The tender will remain open for 3 weeks from 3 Dec and will close on 24 Dec 2008 at 11 am sharp. For more information on these properties, please visit SLA’s State Property and Information Online (SPIO) web portal (https://app1.sla.gov.sg/spio), or call the SPIO hotline at 6323 9154. The tender documents are available on https://app1.sla.gov.sg/spio. Tender applications may be deposited at Singapore Land Authority, 55 Newton Road #12-01, Revenue House, Singapore 307987.

How the Ideas Tender scheme works: Similar to the normal tenders called for rental of vacant State properties, interested parties must submit their offers for a property under the Ideas Tender Scheme using SLA's tender document. Each tenderer is encouraged to submit an offer that meets the original requirements of the tender, i.e. the basic offer. In addition, the tenderer has the option to submit a maximum of two alternative uses per tender, i.e. the alternative offer(s). The alternative offer(s) submitted can be for uses not found on the prescribed list of approved uses. To guide tenderers when proposing alternative uses, SLA will provide a list of uses that do not meet technical guidelines of relevant government agencies and therefore are not likely to be approved in the tender. SLA will receive offers for the property for a three-week period. The alternative offer(s) submitted will have to be cleared by the relevant authorities on the basis of several factors, including the proposed uses' proximity to residential areas, compatibility with surrounding areas and potential impact on traffic.

-End-

Issued by:
The Singapore Land Authority
2 December 2008

Attachment:
Annex A: Details of the bids for former Seh Chuan High School
Annex B: Location map and photo of former Mee Toh School

Annex A: Details of the bids for former Seh Chuan High School

State Property at 9-3 Jalan Seh Chuan, Singapore 598414
S/No.	Name of Tenderer	Tendered Monthly Rent (S$)
1	Dimensions Commercial School Pte Ltd	90,058
2	Madhu International Education & Technology Services Pte Ltd	80,888
3	Informatics Education Singapore Pte Ltd	80,000
4	Chatsworth International School Pte Ltd	78,870
5	Etonhouse International Holdings Pte Ltd	51,180
6	I Max Education Center LLP	35,000
7	RV Centre International Pte Ltd	30,000

About SLA

Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resources for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey systems, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey systems.