SINGAPORE – Real estate developer Mapletree has received permission from the authorities to build an interim ferry and cruise terminal in HarbourFront, paving the way for the potential redevelopment of HarbourFront Centre, which currently houses a ferry and cruise terminal.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Sept 11 issued written permission to HarbourFront Four, a subsidiary of Mapletree, to build a two-storey interim ferry and cruise terminal.

According to the document, the proposed terminal will have a floor area of 17,428.68 sq m, and can be used for a decade until Sept 11, 2033.

Permission to relocate existing jetties and pontoons in the area was also granted.

The interim terminal has to be demolished after its function ends.

It will have a covered linkbridge connecting it to the existing L-shaped pier that serves the current passenger terminal in HarbourFront Centre, which services international cruises and ferries to areas in the region such as Batam.

It is also slated to have a sheltered connection with HarbourFront Tower One – an office building and one of several properties in HarbourFront within the portfolio of Mapletree, which is wholly owned by Singapore’s investment company Temasek.

Earlier in 2023, Mapletree had received provisional permission from URA to redevelop the more than 40-year-old HarbourFront Centre into a development with 101,326 sq m of office space and 42,000 sq m of retail space, both referring to gross floor area.

The centre currently has a 97,700 sq m gross floor area, of which 66,200 sq m can be leased.

The 13-storey HarbourFront Centre is an office and retail development that was formerly known as the World Trade Centre.

It was originally completed in 1978 and later revamped and reopened in the early 2000s in its current form.

Asked about Mapletree’s plans for HarbourFront Centre and the construction of an interim ferry terminal, a spokesperson for the developer said it embarks “on exploratory efforts to evaluate new ideas and plans for our assets” from time to time.

“We have no confirmed plans for HarbourFront Centre at this stage,” said the spokesperson.

When contacted, Singapore Cruise Centre chairman Loh Lik Peng acknowledged plans for the interim terminal, but said “the precise nature of the plans is not 100 per cent”.

He added that there would be no impact on passenger service and safety should plans be pursued.

The cruise centre – a wholly owned subsidiary of Mapletree – operates HarbourFront Passenger Terminal, as well as ferry terminals in Tanah Merah and Pasir Panjang.

Mr Loh said an interim terminal, if built, will be close to the existing one and utilise the same pier as the current terminal.

Prior to getting the nod for HarbourFront Centre and the interim terminal, Mapletree in the late 2010s embarked on a reclamation project to add about 2.2ha of land – equivalent in size to about three football fields – in front of HarbourFront Towers One and Two, and Keppel Bay Tower.

This was completed in January 2020.

Ferry operators at HarbourFront Passenger Terminal such as Batamfast and Sindo Ferry told The Straits Times that they had yet to be informed of detailed plans for the interim terminal.

Batamfast general manager for ferry operations Chua Choon Leng said a standalone ferry terminal would require space to accommodate a few thousand passengers per hour, especially at peak periods, as well as standard infrastructure such as check-in counters, toilets and food stalls, and an area for Customs, immigration and quarantine procedures.

He is confident in the Singapore Cruise Centre’s ability to operate a standalone interim terminal, given that the operator also manages Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, a purpose-built facility.

Mr Chua said the potential redevelopment of HarbourFront Centre offers an opportunity to consider shifting the area’s ferry operations to Marina South – an idea he said the authorities previously consulted operators on.

Doing so would cut the duration of one-way trips between Singapore and Batam by about 15 to 18 minutes, or up to a third of some trips, he said, as vessels have to slow down between Sisters’ Islands and the current terminal when they enter port waters.