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It was announced today that the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Singapore hit a new record of 1,426 with a total number of infected cases exceeding 8,000.
As of yesterday, Singapore has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia.
Of the 1,426 new cases, “the vast majority” of the new cases are work permit holders residing in residences of foreign workers, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in its press release of the preliminary figures.
As of April 20, there are a total of 18 foreign worker dormitories that have been declared areas of isolation.
As previously reported, Westlite dorms are managed by the public company Centurion Corporation, led by Potong Pasir grassroots leaders: David Loh Kim Kang and Han Seng Juan (‘Dorms of foreign workers with active COVID-19 groups linked to AP grassroots leaders, ” Apr 10).
According to its website, Centurion Corporation currently operates 5 dormitories for foreign workers:
Westlite Toh Guan and Westlite Mandai have been classified as an isolated area, while Westlite Woodlands has been identified by the Ministry of Health as a group.
SLA extends the residence lease and Centurion does not have to pay a development premium
In any event, 2 months ago (February 14), the Centurion Corporation announced that it obtained approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on February 10 for the redevelopment of an existing block in the Westlite Toh Guan dorm to a dorm of 8-story workers and industrial training center. He said the company obtained planning permission from the URA in connection with the redevelopment project.
In addition, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) would issue the company an offer to regularize the title restriction to reflect the approved use of the property as a worker dormitory, training center, and auxiliary business use.
SLA would also extend the use of Westlite Toh Guan’s existing lease for another 25 years from 2032 to 2057. The company said it “understands” the SLA that a development premium is not paid for “property intensification.”
Westlite Toh Guan’s dormitory was the first of 2 foreign worker dormitories that were registered as isolation areas under the Infectious Diseases Act on April 5, after a large increase in the number of infected workers who were seen in the 2 bedrooms.
Following its announcement on February 14, the Centurion Corporation gave a positive earnings alert on February 18 to the public regarding the “good news” it had received from URA and SLA previously.
He said that as Westlite Toh Guan’s period of use is extended by 25 years, the company would see an increase in the fair value of the investment property by S $ 70 million. He announced that the property firm Knight Frank had valued Westlite Toh Guan at S $ 284 million as of December 31, 2019, giving a revaluation gain of S $ 70 million or about 33% of the original value.
With the valuation rising thanks to redevelopment approvals the company received from the government, it is unknown whether it would also help create a less crowded and better living environment for those foreign workers living in their dormitories.
