SINGAPORE: Three plots of land in Lim Chu Kang with longer leases of 20 years were put up for public tender on Tuesday (Oct 31).
The lots are located at Neo Tiew Crescent and are intended for fish farming, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a press release.
They range in size from 15,574.9 sq m to 23,961.2 sq m and are part of the 60 hectares of land set aside by AVA earlier this year for food farming in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah.
The first tranche of 36 plots was put up for tender in August earlier this year.
In the second quarter of next year, seven plots for vegetables, quails' eggs and general food farming will be open for tender. The remaining 14 plots, for leafy vegetables, beansprouts and general agriculture farming will be available from 2019.
In June last year AVA had announced new 20-year leases for new agriculture land instead of the previously announced 10-year blocks.
The policy change was a result of engagement and consultation with farms, said AVA, and is meant to give farms more certainty and let them invest in more productive technologies.
Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of ZACD Group, said the 20-year lease tenure is attractive and he expects between three to seven bids for each plot of land.
"The Neo Tiew Road area is quite far from residential and commercial uses, hence it is fairly suitable for such purposes like food-fish farming. Farmers typically need several years, sometimes more than seven years to recover the infrastructure that they have invested to set up the farm. (This is provided) the farmers are not evicted for redevelopment of the land in the next 20 years."
Dr Lee Nai Jia, Head of Research at Edmund Tie & Company said that demand for the land parcels should be high as consumption of fish in the region is likely to grow.
"Some companies have already started multi-story food fish ponds: Using technology to automate and optimise the yield without compromising on the quality. Additionally, the demand for food-fish is healthy judging from the consumption levels in the growing middle class in Southeast Asia."
The tender for the three fish farming land parcels will close at 12 noon on Jan 9, 2018.
More details are available at www.ava.gov.sg/landsales.
Source: CNA/nc