Singapore Government Reveals Holland Road Land Swap With Malaysian Royal

The Singapore government has struck a deal with a son of Malaysia’s monarch to swap the scion’s land near the Lion City’s famed botanical gardens for a more distant state-held site.

Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail agreed to swap a 13 hectare (32.1 acre) parcel flanked by Holland Road and Tyersall Ave for the government’s 8.5 hectare plot further to the northwest, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said Tuesday in a release. An intermediate 8.1 hectares adjoining both plots will remain in the hands of the regent, who plans to develop the redrawn 16.6 hectare site.

Tunku Ismail is the eldest son of the sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Iskandar, who currently serves as king of Malaysia under the country’s unique rotational monarchy. The land in question has been under the private ownership of the Johor royal family for generations, according to the URA.

“The land parcels to be swapped are of comparable value,” the planning agency said.

Garden Buffer Zone

The parties are undertaking the swap of the freehold plots so that Tunku Ismail’s planned developments will be further away from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The land retained by the regent after the swap is suitable for low-rise and low-density residential uses, said the URA, which noted that any development plans would be subject to due process.

“URA and agencies will assess any development applications and ensure that the proposed development is sensitive to the surrounding site context,” the URA said. “Prior to commencement of any works, the development will be subject to environmental studies to mitigate any potential impact on the environment.”

The government plans to leave the newly secured land undeveloped for now, while keeping its options open for the future, according to Tuesday’s announcement.

Crazy Rich Project

Bloomberg reported in 2021 that representatives for Tunku Ismail had been seeking permission to develop a multibillion-dollar luxury residential project featuring a cluster of high-end homes on the Holland Road plot. The expanse was once even larger, but it shrank as the government acquired portions to extend the gardens in 1990 and 2009.

The heavily wooded land includes the grounds of the disused Tyersall Park and the ruins of Istana Woodneuk, a small palace built by the Johor royal family 90 years ago.

Tyersall Park famously stood in as the setting of the fictional Young family’s estate in the movie Crazy Rich Asians, though the actual scenes were filmed in Malaysia.