Developers stand to gain from rejuvenated Greater Southern Waterfront
Moves to rejuvenate the Greater Southern Waterfront area offer major opportunities for developers, DBS Group Research said yesterday.
It noted that Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) stands to gain as VivoCity, which it owns, is likely to be the "bedrock of the rejuvenation".
Other potential beneficiaries include Frasers Commercial Trust - which owns the nearby Alexandra Technopark - Keppel Corporation and Genting Singapore, said analysts Derek Tan and Ho Pei Hwa.
Plans to redevelop the waterfront were unveiled in March as part of the longer-term plan to revamp the area over the next five to 10 years.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong elaborated on the plan in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday.
The ambitious rejuvenation will be set in motion with the relocation of the PSA city terminal in Tanjong Pagar to Tuas from 2027.
The waterfront area stretches from Gardens by the Bay East to Pasir Panjang, covering around 30km of the southern coastline with about 2,000ha of land for potential redevelopment - almost six times that of Marina Bay.
"This offers significant opportunities for developers... starting with up to potentially 9,000 new residential development homes (public and private) at the site currently occupied by Keppel Club, on which there is a remaining two-year land lease," the report highlighted.
"VivoCity, the closest large retail mall, will be the bedrock of the rejuvenation, in our view.
"We believe there will be greater benefits to the mall over time with the expected increase in apartments, working population and new tourism elements added."
The relocation of Pulau Brani's terminal has allowed work to start to turn the site into an island of recreation to complement the offerings on Sentosa.
"Plans for a Downtown South resort mirroring NTUC's Downtown East resort will, over time, bring more holiday-goers and families to the vicinity, driving visits to both Sentosa and VivoCity," the analysts said.
"While the development will take time to take shape, the Government will also look to add more office space within the Greater Southern Waterfront to supplement the growth of the population and bring more people to work. This will inevitably be positive for MCT, which has office properties in the Alexandra Precinct (Mapletree Business City I, PSA Building) and HarbourFront (Bank of America Merrill Lynch HarbourFront building), and will, over time, benefit from a wider pool of office tenants looking to relocate there." - THE STRAITS TIMES
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