Property experts ask: Will there be enough riders to justify having MRT station at Founders’ Memorial?

SINGAPORE — Some property analysts have expressed surprise at the addition of a new train station along the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) to cater to visitors of the future Founders’ Memorial, given the lack of developments around the area.

On Monday (Jan 7), the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced that it will begin works this year to convert a TEL facility building into the Founders’ Memorial station — which is a working name for the stop. The facility building is already being constructed at Bay East Garden in the Marina East area.

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of real estate investment firm ZACD Group, said that generally, the Government would only build an MRT station if there was a “justifiable population density”.

At present, the closest residential area to the Marina East area, where the memorial and its accompanying station will be located, is in Tanjong Rhu. The neighbourhood will already be served by a TEL station of the same name when it becomes operational in 2023.

Mr Mak was thus surprised to hear that the Founders’ Memorial station could open by 2025, in tandem with the memorial.

Aside from serving as an extension of Gardens by the Bay, the Marina East area also features the Marina Bay Golf Course, which will see its lease expiring in July 2024.

In the 2014 Master Plan of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the area has been earmarked as a reserved site, meaning that specific use for the plot of land has not yet been determined.

Sharing Mr Mak’s sentiments, Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive officer of International Property Advisor, highlighted Woodleigh and Buangkok MRT stations as two stations which were kept closed for several years due to insufficient ridership.

Located along the North-East Line (NEL), which started operations in 2003, Woodleigh station opened only eight years later in 2011, while Buangkok began operations in 2006.

“What is the expected traffic flow that would come out of people wanting to visit our Founders’ Memorial?” Mr Ku asked.

Responding to queries from TODAY, LTA said that it was unable to provide an expected ridership number for the station. However, it said earlier on Monday that once the TEL is fully operational by 2024, it expects to serve 500,000 daily commuters in the initial years. The numbers are expected to go up to one million in the longer term.

Mr Ku found it “scary that taxpayers are footing the bill” to convert the S$242.4 million facility building. Construction of the building was awarded to China Railway First Group in June 2016.

“Now as an afterthought, we are going to change it into a station… How much more cost (will this incur)?”

The LTA told TODAY that the additional costs will be determined at a later date.

Other analysts were more sanguine in their views.

Mr Desmond Sim, head of CBRE Research for Singapore and South-east Asia, is not concerned about the lack of developments around the memorial area when the station opens. Citing Woodleigh station as an example, he said it is “now going to be popular” due to the development of Bidadari as both a private and public enclave.

“Even Buangkok has a lot of developments around it… You can’t time infrastructure and developments perfectly,” he said.

While Mr Sim believes that ridership will be high when the memorial park opens, he said that “proper planning and curation of the area” will be needed in order to maintain sustainable ridership. This could include the introduction of different activities and events to continuously attract people.

Mr Chris Koh, director of property consultancy Chris International, said that due to the present inaccessibility of the Marina East area, it is best to have a train station for Founders’ Memorial for both tourists and residents.

He does not think it will take long for other projects to crop up around the area after the Founders’ Memorial station opens. Once the lease expires for the golf course in 2024 and the Government takes back the land, Mr Koh believes that it will be put up immediately for tender. With construction time taking up to three years, he estimates that Singaporeans could expect new developments by 2027.

As for possible developments in the Marina East area, Mr Mak said that it could have a mix of residential and commercial projects, and the precinct may be gradually developed over a period of 10 to 15 years.

Mr Sim, on the other hand, believes there is potential for a waterfront concept and even a new tourist attraction.