Hotel At Bugis To Make Way For New Downtown Line MRT Station

Source : The Straits Times, June 26, 2008

THE Government will acquire the New Seventh Storey Hotel at Bugis to make way for a Downtown Line (DTL) MRT station.

The Land Transport Authority said on Thursday that the hotel will have to be vacated by year end to enable comprehensive redevelopment of the area.

(Artist's impression) The new Bugis station will be sited under Rochor Road and partly within the adjacent land to the west. -- PHOTO: LTA














The new Bugis station is one of six that make up the 4.3 km DTL Stage 1 (DTL1) that will run from Bugis Station on the East-West Line (EWL) to Chinatown Station on the North East Line (NEL).

The other five stations are Promenade, Bayfront, Landmark, Cross Street and Chinatown. The new line is scheduled to open in 2013.

The new Bugis station will be sited under Rochor Road and partly within the adjacent land to the west.

LTA said due to engineering constraints which cannot be avoided, the land currently occupied by the New Seventh Storey Hotel and part of the adjacent state land fronting Rochor Road, is needed for the construction of the station box and station structures, such as the station's entrance and lift facility.

'The hotel will have to be demolished to allow for the construction of the station,' said LTA. The hotel site will be amalgamated with the adjacent state land parcel at North Bridge Road, Tan Quee Lan Street, Beach Road and Rochor Road for future comprehensive redevelopment.

LTA said the amalgamation of the hotel site with the adjacent land parcel will allow for better integration of the station with future development in the area, and allow the planned pedestrian network and urban design plans for the area to be carried out.

The owner and occupants of the New Seven Storey Hotel, who will have to move out of the building by end December, will receive compensation pegged at market value.

LTA said commuters will have more transport choices in the city as the DTL 1 will serve existing and upcoming developments in the Marina Bay area, including One Raffles Quay, The Sail @ Marina Bay, Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resorts and the Marina Bay Financial Centre.

The contract for the construction of the new DTL Bugis station and tunnels from Beach Road to Queen Street will be up for tender in early July and awarded in November.