Singapore and Johor Regent swap prime Holland Road land plots as royal family eyes development
[SINGAPORE] The government has agreed to swap an 8-hectare land parcel along Holland Road, for a 13 ha-plot in the same area belonging to the Regent of Johor His Royal Highness Tunku Ismail (ROJ).
The 13 ha-parcel is part of a larger 21.1 ha swathe just outside the Singapore Botanic Gardens, owned by the Johor royal family for generations.
The plots sit in an exclusive residential neighbourhood and a designated Good Class Bungalow area, where mansions command tens of millions with one at nearby Gallop Park recently going for S$58 million.
The land swap agreement comes as the Johor Regent plans to develop his land, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Jun 10).
'The Singapore government and the ROJ have agreed to undertake a land swap, so that the ROJ's planned developments will be further away from the Singapore Botanic Gardens Unesco World Heritage Site,' the authorities said.
'The land parcels to be swapped are of compatible value,' they said at a briefing on Tuesday, without disclosing the actual amount.
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The ROJ will transfer a 13 ha-plot, along Tyersall Avenue, to the government. In exchange, Singapore will transfer 8.5 ha of state land to the ROJ.
With the swap, the ROJ will own 16.6 ha of land in an area bounded by Tyersall Avenue and Holland Road, including the 8.1 ha-plot which he already owns.
The exchange is expected to be completed this year, and the land owned by the ROJ is suitable for low-rise and low-density residential use.
The Business Times understands that the authorities have assessed that the state land parcel to be transferred to the ROJ can be potentially used for residential purposes.
The plot is currently vacant and vegetated. It has been zoned 'special use' since the 1958 Master Plan. After the land swap, the ROJ can determine the use and submit an application for rezoning. It is unclear how much in land betterment charges, which developers pay for intensified use of land, will be charged.
The surrounding area, to the west, is zoned residential with a gross plot ratio of 1.4.
The plot is expected to have a value comparable to other nearby residential plots due to its similar development potential. In contrast, a plot located further away, such as the parcel to be transferred to Singapore, can be developed for lower-density residential use.
Any development plans will be subject to due process, said the authorities. 'URA and agencies will assess any development applications and ensure that the proposed development is sensitive to the surrounding site context.'
The agreement was made between the Singapore government and a private individual, and the Malaysian government and Johor State governments were not involved in negotiations.
News of the land swap comes a week after the Singapore government announced it would acquire two separate small land parcels totalling about 0.79ha from the Malaysian government, as part of plans to redevelop Woodlands Checkpoint, a major land border crossing between the two countries.
Singapore had previously written to Malaysia in May 2022 and November 2023 to propose the purchase. Expansion works will begin in 2025, with the first phase to be fully operational from 2032.
Development works on the Johor Regent's Holland Road plots will be subject to environmental studies to mitigate any potential impact on the environment, said URA and SLA.
The government will keep the plot it receives from the ROJ undeveloped for now. The 13 ha-plot along Holland Road is currently zoned an open space.
Media reports in 2021 speculated that the Johor royal family had plans to develop the land which housed Istana Woodneuk, a palace built by the royals' ancestors in the late 19th century.
One analyst estimate put the value of the land at S$4.5 billion if it were to be sold for development.
The 2.3 million sq ft area owned by Johor royalty was once larger but has gradually reduced as the Singapore government acquired land to extend the Botanic Gardens.
According to Bloomberg, the Singapore government bought a chunk in 1990 for US$25 million and another 1.05 million sq ft, as big as some 12 football fields, in 2009 for an undisclosed sum. The latter plot is under the purview of the Singapore Botanics Garden and it brings the total size of the 154-year-old Botanic Gardens to nearly 74 ha.
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The land swop agreement comes as the Johor Regent plans to develop his land, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Jun 10). 'The Singapore government and the ROJ have agreed to undertake a land swop, so that the ROJ's planned developments will be further away from the Singapore Botanic Gardens Unesco World Heritage Site,' the authorities said. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up 'The land parcels to be swopped are of comparable value,' they said at a briefing on Tuesday, without disclosing the actual amount or details on the leasehold terms of the plots. The ROJ will transfer a 13 ha-plot, along Tyersall Avenue, to the government. In exchange, Singapore will transfer 8.5 ha of state land to the ROJ. With the swop, the ROJ will own 16.6 ha of land in an area bounded by Tyersall Avenue and Holland Road, including the 8.1 ha-plot which he already owns. The land owned by the Regent of Johor is suitable for low-rise and low-density residential use. PHOTO: THE ROYAL JOHOR/FACEBOOK Tunku Ismail was appointed Regent of Johor in 2024, ahead of his father's ascension to the federal throne as the 17th king of Malaysia. Tunku Ismail is the eldest of six children of Sultan Ibrahim and Johor queen, Raja Zarith Sofiah. The Business Times understands that the Singapore authorities have assessed that the state land parcel to be transferred to the ROJ can be potentially used for residential purposes. Any development plans will be subject to due process, said the authorities. 'URA and agencies will assess any development applications and ensure that the proposed development is sensitive to the surrounding site context.' The plot is currently vacant and vegetated. It has been zoned 'special use' since the 1958 Master Plan. After the land swop, the ROJ can determine the use and submit an application for rezoning. It is unclear how much in land betterment charges (LBC), which developers pay for intensified use of land, will be charged, and the zoning of the area may change in the new Draft Master Plan, due to be unveiled later this month. Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia's senior director of data analytics, reckons the LBC could top S$1 billion, assuming a proposal is submitted to rezone to a low density residential development due to the sheer size of the land. The surrounding area, to the west, is zoned residential with a gross plot ratio of 1.4. Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at estimates the plot of land to be transferred to the Tunku to be worth around S$1.9 billion, and the plot that the ROJ already owns worth about the same. 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The agreement was made between the Singapore government and a private individual, and the Malaysian government and Johor State governments were not involved in negotiations. News of the land swop comes a week after the Singapore government announced it would acquire two separate small land parcels totalling about 0.79 ha from the Malaysian government, as part of plans to redevelop Woodlands Checkpoint, a major land border crossing between the two countries. Singapore had previously written to Malaysia in May 2022 and November 2023 to propose the purchase. Expansion works will begin in 2025, with the first phase to be fully operational from 2032. Development works on the Johor Regent's Holland Road plots will be subject to environmental studies to mitigate any potential impact on the environment, said URA and SLA. The government will keep the plot it receives from the ROJ undeveloped for now. The 13 ha-plot along Holland Road is currently zoned an open space. Media reports in 2021 speculated that the Johor royal family had plans to develop the land which housed Istana Woodneuk, a palace built by the royals' ancestors in the late 19th century. One analyst estimate put the value of the land at S$4.5 billion if it were to be sold for development. The land owned by Johor royalty has gradually reduced as the Singapore government acquired land to extend the Botanic Gardens. According to Bloomberg, the Singapore government bought a chunk in 1990 for US$25 million and another 1.05 million sq ft parcel, as big as some 12 football fields, in 2009 for an undisclosed sum. The latter plot brings the total size of the 154-year-old Botanic Gardens to nearly 74 ha. The latest agreement is not the first instance when land was swopped between the two countries. 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It has a 49-storey residential block with 660 units, as well as a 39-storey commercial tower with a retail gallery, office spaces and hotel.
