Ong Ye Kung 'dismayed' at $52k bid to rent Tampines HDB clinic

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said he was "dismayed" at the $52,188 monthly rental bid for a general practitioner (GP) clinic in a Tampines HDB estate as it may lead to higher healthcare costs for residents.

Going forward, bids for future HDB GP clinics will be assessed using a model that focuses less on price, and more on quality of care, he said in a Facebook post on June 4.

Mr Ong said the high rental bid would "translate to higher cost of healthcare one way or another" and negate the Ministry of Health's (MOH) efforts to keep the cost of primary healthcare affordable.

"More importantly, higher rental bids do not necessarily translate to the best healthcare that the community needs," he added.

I-Health Medical Holdings had won the tender to operate the 52 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 in March.

But the issue recently came to public attention after a doctor called the $52,188 monthly rent "obscene" in a LinkedIn post.

It sparked discussion over rising rentals and healthcare costs.

Mr Andrew Chim, 37, the co-owner of I-Health Medical Holdings, had told The Straits Times that his bid was justified because of the attractive attributes of the area.

The unit is in the middle of five Build-To-Order projects with 5,000 households, and near upcoming developments like a new mixed-use project and a shopping mall, he said.

On June 4, Mr Ong pointed to the new tender approach for GP clinics that MOH and the Housing Board had launched at the Bartley Beacon development in May.

Under this new "price-quality evaluation model", quality of care will account for 70 per cent of tender evaluation, and rental price for the remaining 30 per cent.

The Bartley Beacon tender closed on May 29 with a total of 18 tenderers. Mr Ong said MOH received proposals with rental bids significantly below that for the Tampines site.

MOH and HDB are assessing the proposals and aim to award the tender by August.

Mr Ong noted that the tender for the Tampines clinic was launched in December 2024 and awarded in March 2025, before tenders took on the price-quality evaluation model.

The new model, which will be the norm moving forward, will shift the focus away from rental rates.

"It will be a meaningful shift, both in improving primary care and ensuring greater affordability," Mr Ong said.

Responding to media queries, HDB said in a statement that the bid of $52,188 is significantly higher than the average tendered rent of around $9,800 a month for similar-sized clinics let by HDB in 2024.

It also said the bid for the Tampines clinic is the highest per sq ft (psf) rent that HDB has received for GP and dental clinics of this size to date.

At 52 sq m, or 560 sq ft, the rent for the unit works out to around $93 psf.

HDB said all tenders awarded for GP clinics to date are based on tendered price, and the submitted bids are business decisions influenced by factors such as location, shop size, trades and market conditions.

"The rental for this Tampines clinic does not set any price requirements for future tenders by HDB, and it also will not affect the rentals that HDB is charging other existing clinics," it said.

HDB added that it is committed to ensuring residents have affordable and quality healthcare services in the heartland.

GPs who run clinics in HDB estates either rent directly from the state, or from landlords who own HDB commercial units.

GPs whom ST spoke to felt the $52,188 rental was too high to be sustainable.

Some doctors who rented from private landlords described a volatile rental market that has seen prices rising after the pandemic.

Dr Conrad Chin, who runs E. L. Chin Family Clinic and Surgery in Clementi, said he thought the rental amount was outrageous.

"Most older doctors do not pay above $2,000 for rent. I doubt that the ($52,188) price is sustainable in the long term," he added.

Dr Wong Choo Wai, who runs two HDB clinics in Bedok and Jurong, said that if rent is not sustainable, the clinic will have to pass on the cost to patients.

Dr Wong, who rented before buying his own units in 2009 and 2015, said the rental market has been volatile.

"When the clinic starts doing well, private landlords may jack up the rent," he said.

In 2009, the landlord for his Bedok unit asked for a 40 per cent increase in rent. As the rent "did not make sense" for the clinic, Dr Wong bought a neighbouring unit for about $750,000.

"I'm thankful I made the decision to buy, or else I would be at the mercy of the landlord," he added.

A doctor who runs a clinic in Clementi, and declined to be named, said he hopes the $52,188 rent will not trigger rent hikes as small businesses are already struggling with rentals.

"Anything over $10,000 would be difficult for me to run the clinic. As solo GPs, we don't make that kind of money to justify the rental," he said.

Parkway Shenton chief executive Tay Wee Kai said that rents at its clinics in HDB estates have increased across the board after Covid-19.

"This is partly due to inflation and also due to some landlords adopting a 'catch-up' mentality and expecting higher rent," he said.

Mr Tay added that during the pandemic, rents remained stagnant and even went down at some locations.

Its branches in HDB estates comprise about half of its more than 30 clinics.