Leases for two — Keppel Club and Marina Bay Golf Course — out of nine golf clubs that are expiring within the next 10 years will not be renewed. A third venue, the SIngapore Island Country Club (SICC), will lose one of its 18-hole courses.
This comes after the Ministry of Law’s decision for the golf courses to make way for redevelopment plans.
Singapore’s 17 golf courses — 14 private and three public — are mostly located on 30-year leasehold land.
[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_original”,”fid”:”51352″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”height”:”451″,”typeof”:”foaf:Image”,”width”:”600″}}]]
Keppel Club’s current location will be redeveloped for housing when its lease ends in 2021.
Discussions between the authorities and Keppel Club for a possible alternative site is ongoing, should the club decide to convert into a social club without golf facilities.
The public Marina Bay Golf Course will also not be offered a new lease when the current one expires in 2024.
However, one of SICC’s two 18-hole golf courses at its Bukit location will be designated as a public golf course once its current lease expires in 2021, operated by the labour movement. This will ensure continued public access to golfing facilities when the Marina Bay Golf Course is phased out for redevelopment.
SICC’s other golf course at the Bukit location will be offered a new lease until 2030, only if the club can come to terms and agree with the labour movement on how the courses can be reconfigured, and the facilities shared.
Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC) and National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC) will be offered new leases but the size of their courses will be reduced as parts of the sites will be affected by Changi Airport’s expansion plans.
10 hectares of TMCC’s land will be acquired by the government to build new taxiways, while 26 hectares from the NSRCC will go to construction of new taxiways and realignment of the existing Changi Coast Road.
Golf courses occupy land spanning 1,500 ha, or about two percent of our total land area.
Although golfing is an activity that is enjoyed by many Singaporeans, and the presence of golfing facilities adds to Singapore’s attractiveness as a business hub, the government says there is a need to balance the competing demands for land in land-scarce Singapore.
Over time, the amount of land used for golfing will have to be reduced, and the sites reallocated for uses such as housing and public infrastructure.
Photos: Keppel Club, Ministry of Law
