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Singapore Marina Bay lures Mideast cash
The 360-hectare Marina Bay project, Singapore's future downtown, is attracting growing interest from Middle East investors that are expanding beyond their shores, officials said.
- By Cleofe Maceda, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:07 June 27, 2008
Dubai: The 360-hectare Marina Bay project, Singapore's future downtown, is attracting growing interest from Middle East investors that are expanding beyond their shores, officials said.
Singapore Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said some firms in the Middle East have a stake in at least two developments in the area, which is envisaged to support Singapore's growth as a major business and financial hub in Asia.
"We have already attracted interest from the Middle East. In fact, two of the developments around the Marina Bay have Middle East money involved - not totally, but they're shareholders. There's a lot of interest from them because we have been to real estate shows or exhibitions overseas to promote this and the interest has been strong," Tan told Gulf News.
Singapore has been promoting its pro-business environment, sound economic fundamentals, high-quality living, transparency and skilled workforce to woo investors from various countries including the Middle East.
Centrepiece
With 360 hectares of prime land for development, Marina Bay is the centrepiece of Singapore's urban transformation. Tan said Singapore will spend close to S$1 billion to set up parks and another S$2 billion to build an underground common services tunnel, rail lines, underground pedestrian links from MRT stations, among others.
"But the bulk of the investments will come from the private sector. We bring in the basic infrastructure, like public utilities. It will take us about five to ten years to roll out the plan. By 2010, most of the big developments will be ready. The bay area will look different in two or three years time," Tan added.
Carol Lim, executive place manager at the Marina Bay Development Agency, said the project has already attracted about S$16.5 billion in investments from local and overseas developers.
The government's investment has so far reached about S$4.5 billion, which include the building of roads and rail lines.
"This project has drawn a lot of interest from the Middle East. Many exciting mixed-use developments are already shaping up and this area is set to be a 24/7 city where people can live, work and play," Lim told Gulf News.
Middle East's recent foray into Singapore's real estate was that of government-owned Dubai World, which signed last December an agreement with City Developments Limited and Elad Group to jointly develop a property called South Beach.
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