Wednesday, November 29, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Kusu: Playground of the rich?
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| Kusu: Playground of the rich? Tourism Board looks into ideas to develop S'pore's six southern islands to attract the super-rich Wednesday ?November 29, 2006 Ansley Ng ansley@mediacorp. THEY are now visited by pilgrims, campers and nature lovers. But if the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has its way, six of Singapore's southern islands could soon turn into a playground for the super-rich from all over the world. The tourism authority is inviting ideas early next year from developers to turn the islands into a private resort destination for wealthy, or "premium plus", tourists. The cluster of islands ?Kusu, Sister's, Lazarus, St John's, Tekukor and Kias and Renget ?are about 6km off the southern tip of Sentosa. A haunt of marine and diving enthusiasts, the islands ?which boast a Chinese temple and natural ecosystems ?have a combined area of 140 hectares, some five times smaller than Sentosa. "Much of the islands are largely vegetated, with several good beaches on the Renget, St John's and Kusu islands," said STB assistant chief executive for brand and communications Ken Low at a tourism conference yesterday. "We hope that the eventual concept will leverage off this natural beauty for a resort development that will not only provide a relaxing discreet experience for the discerning traveller, but also serve as a motivating factor to drive the premium-plus visitors into Singapore." The STB, which promoted the potential of the islands at a roadshow in Hong Kong in September, could launch a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) late next year if there is strong interest. The RFP stage usually follows the request for concepts (RFC) round, which could kick off in early 2007. But while STB officials are tight lipped with details, urban planners have apparently planned this 10 years ago. According to an Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Southern Island Planning Report in 1996, Lazarus Island would be turned into a "canal laced marine village resort". Reclaimed land would make space for "low density" residential development, marinas and beaches, according to the report. The report, put together by 13 government agencies with the Sentosa Development Corporation, included drawings of the islands. It was not clear how strictly potential developers would have to adhere to the report, which already has several points superseded by the Master Plan 1998, a national development blueprint. But analysts had some ideas in mind. Donald Han, managing director of property consultancy Cushman and Wakefield, said the project could model itself after The World in Dubai, which is a cluster of man-made islands off the coast of the affluent United Arab Emirates city. Each island at The World costs between US$6.85 million and US$25 million, and buyers include entrepreneur Richard Branson and footballer David Beckham. "A viable concept would be to run it as a spa resort operated by a high end operator, targeting tourists coming from the mainland," said Mr Han. But Knight Frank's director of consultancy and research Nicholas Mak said the kind of activities on the islands would be limited by geography. He said: "In Maldives, you see clear blue waters all the way to the horizon. In the southern part of Singapore, you see container ships and ferries that come and go to Batam. The atmosphere is different and the water is different." But like Mr Han, he agreed that the islands have potential to host high-end resorts, such as the Banyan Tree resort in Bintan, complete with posh restaurants. "It would be a waste to put a golf course there. They could have resorts and spas," he said. "It could provide weekend getaways with spas and fine-dining. As the islands can only be accessed by water, another feature of the project could be a marina similar to what Sentosa Cove is offering. But Singapore could be too small for so many yachts and boats, said Mr Mak. "I don't know which part of Singapore they can sail to before they run into international waters," he added. "It would be interesting to see the kind of concepts that comes out of this." | |
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// posted by Shajahan @ 3:06 PM 