SINGAPORE – Singapore is waiting for Malaysia to respond to a proposal to buy two small plots of land owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner of Malaysia, said an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) spokesperson.
The spokesperson on Feb 22 said Singapore had written to Malaysia in May 2022 and November 2023 to propose the purchase.
ICA was responding to media queries following a report by English-language daily The Star on Feb 18, which said that Malaysia has yet to decide if it will sell two plots of land in Woodlands to Singapore.
The Malaysia newspaper quoted Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore Azfar Mohamad Mustafar as saying that it is logical for Singapore to buy the land. He also said a sale or swop of land, which both countries have done before, has yet to be decided.
ICA said the two plots of land – currently unused – sit in the middle of the area that will constitute the to-be- redeveloped Woodlands Checkpoint.
“Without them, we would not be able to optimise the checkpoint’s redevelopment, which we are undertaking in order to enhance the immigration clearance experience for Singapore and Malaysia travellers using the Causeway,” the spokesperson said.
ICA added that the matter was raised at the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat in October 2023 and also the Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia meeting in July 2023, during which both sides had committed to improving the traffic situation at the Causeway.
In The Star report, Datuk Azfar said the two plots of freehold land cover an area of about 0.93ha and that he had proposed a swop of land, but it was up to the federal government to decide.
During the Leaders’ Retreat in October, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong explained to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim why Woodlands Checkpoint needed to be redeveloped, which will require land reclamation, and he was glad Datuk Seri Anwar supported the project.
Mr Anwar had said Singapore requires land that is currently under the Malaysian authorities for the redevelopment, and that Malaysia will facilitate the sale.
Work to expand the Woodlands Checkpoint to about five times its current size will begin in 2025. The first phase, comprising an extension at the Old Woodlands Town Centre and Bukit Timah Expressway, is slated to be completed from 2028 and be fully operational by 2032.
ICA plans to redevelop Woodlands Checkpoint in several phases over the next 10 to 15 years, including through land reclamation.
