Source : The Straits Times, Feb 16, 2008
THE Novena medical hub is taking shape, with the Parkway group emerging yesterday as the top bidder for a 1.7 ha site on Irrawaddy Road to build a new private hospital.
The $1.2 billion bid by its wholly-owned subsidiaries Parkway Novena and Parkway Irrawaddy, was nearly five times that of Raffles Medical's and more than double the offer from Napier Medical, run by former Parkway Holdings boss Tony Tan and the founder of Penang's Island Hospital Mark Wee Keng Hong.
At close to $1,600 per sq ft per plot ratio, it is potentially the most expensive commercial land sale in recent years, said Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak.
Parkway said the bid price reflects its plans to build a hospital of the future using eco-friendly technologies.
Alongside the wards, medical facilities and suites for specialists' outpatient care in cancer, cardiac and orthopaedic services, there will be retail and public spaces as well, including aerial gardens.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority tender closed yesterday and it usually takes under a week for the results to be released, which is when Parkway will reveal more details about the project.
The sale of the site, the first private hospital since Raffles Hospital was built in 2001, is part of a plan to beef up medical infrastructure here to attract one million foreign patients a year by 2012.
Anchor tenants in the Novena neighbourhood are Tan Tock Seng Hospital and several other public institutions.
Private institutions like Johns Hopkins International Medical Centre and newly launched Novena Medical Centre complete the family of about 10 health-care providers in the area.
Coming up alongside the new hospital is a Far East Organization hotel, Frasers Centrepoint's Soleil condominium and SC Global Developments' Newton 200 office building, all eyeing 'medical' guests and tenants.
Far East, which owns Novena Medical Centre, is building the 28-storey hotel next to Novena Square. To be completed by 2010, the hotel will have 432 rooms and 64 medical suites, said the group's executive director of property services, Mr G.L. Yap.
A proposed underpass will connect the hotel with the medical centre. 'We are even willing to build a bridge linking the new hospital if they want to,' said Mr Yap.
At the 36-storey twin tower Soleil condominium, several of its 417 units were sold to buyers like project director Kellie Liew, who is looking to rent out her two-bedroom unit, possibly to medical tourists seeking treatment in the neighbourhood.
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