Station locations of Eastern Region Line may remain unknown next year

Construction schedule of the MRT line until 2020 was announced three years ago but to date a spokesman from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) reports no significant development yet.

“There’s nothing new happening yet. We remain in the planning and evaluation stage,” Harold Lim, senior assistant director for corporate communications division of MOT told Singapore Business Review over the phone noting that he cannot confirm yet if station locations could be announced by next year as there are no completed engineering studies yet.

Mr. Lim also clarified that MOT did not make any commitment of announcing station locations by 2012 or 2013 as indicated in other publications.

"We will announce station locations once all engineering studies are done. And to-date even engineering studies for Thomson line are not done yet," he said.

“Before building a line, they need to do engineering studies and only until they are completed that we can determine the exact line, on how it will cut through. [And], only after the study is done can we call a tender for the construction of the line,” Mr. Lim added.

Cushman and Wakefield Senior Manager for Research in Asia and the Pacific Ong Kah Seng, meanwhile calls for the constant updating of the development as some property agents are already using it as a marketing feature.

“As most homebuyers are more knowledgeable, rational and savvy now, it will require concrete announcements or probably even, the construction works of the stations to give visibility to the arrival of the new stations, as basis for increased asking residential property prices,” he said.

“Currently, there may be limited impact on residential property prices from the ERL, in the form of asking and transacted prices, in the area, specifically the Tanjong Rhu, Marine Parade, Siglap and Upper East Coast areas. However, the benefit of such upcoming stations can probably be used as a marketing feature, to share with potential homebuyers, especially to those who are taking a longer term property investment horizon about such benefits, in the form of added convenience and connectivity with the rest of the island,” Mr. Ong added.

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