SINGAPORE: The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
said it is still investigating the proposed sale of Forestville
executive condominium (EC) on 28 December.
In a response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, URA
said the Controller of Housing (COH) had instructed the developer,
Hao Yuan Investments, on 28 December not to sell units in the
Forestville EC project, pending further
investigations.
The statement added "the developer has launched the
project with some proposed changes to the development's plans which
had not been approved, and this is not allowed."
Channel NewsAsia understands that the developer had initially
received the necessary approvals from URA for the sale.
However, the company had made some changes to the development plans
at the eleventh hour and this has prompted URA to step in and stop
the sale.
It is believed the URA is currently looking into the entire process
leading up to the intended sale.
This includes ensuring the proposed changes to the development
plans are in good order.
URA added that "the results of the investigation will help us
determine what further actions to take".
Hao Yuan issued a statement on Saturday to clarify that "there were
no bookings of units for Forestville EC as originally intended on
Dec 28."
Instead, the company said "the balloting process proceeded as usual
in order to determine the sequencing order of the
applicants."
It added that there were also no booking fees collected and as such
there will be no forfeiture.
This came following reports on Friday claiming that about 20 per
cent of the dual-key units at Forestville were snapped up within
two and a half hours of the launch.
The developers have included about 200 such units in the 653-unit
project.
Dual-key units are designed to contain separate living spaces under
one roof.
- CNA/xq
