Valuation of New and Old Reclaimed Land and Their Inclusion in the Current and Past Reserves

Parliamentary Question by Mr Pritam Singh:

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) does the value of new land that has been reclaimed go into current reserves; (b) whether this value is based on the actual cost of reclamation or the value of new land in reference to the Chief Valuer’s land betterment charge (LBC) tables; and (b) for land previously reclaimed, whether the revaluation for marking to market is done once a year based on the annual LBC rates or once every six months based on the six-monthly LBC rates or is the value of the land in past reserves held at the cost of land reclamation until it is sold to the Government for a specific use.

Parliamentary Reply by Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Finance Mr Lawrence Wong:

Past Reserves are used to fund land reclamation. The reclaimed land will form part of our State Land holdings and is protected as Past Reserves. There is no change to the value of Past Reserves as the transaction is a conversion of a financial asset to a physical asset.

The Government does not record the valuation for unsold State Land, including reclaimed land. Instead, the Government maintains a listing of State Land that is protected as part of the Past Reserves.

The Government only values State Land (including reclaimed land) at the point of sale to enable disposal at fair market value and avoid a draw on Past Reserves, and not on an on-going basis. Hence, the issue of revaluation does not arise.