The Singapore government is exchanging a plot of land in one of the city-state’s priciest residential enclaves with a larger site held by the eldest son of Malaysian King Ibrahim Iskandar.
Under the deal, Ismael Ibrahim, the Regent of Johor (the southern Malaysian state), will swap 13 hectares of his land across the Botanic Gardens for a nearby 8.5-hectare Singapore state land that’s of “comparable value,” the Urban Redevelopment Authority said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The Regent of Johor plans to develop his land,” the URA said in the statement. “The Singapore government and the ROJ have agreed to undertake a land swap, so that the ROJ’s planned developments will be further away from the Singapore Botanic Gardens.”
The 82-hectare Botanic Gardens—which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site—is a popular tourist attraction near the Orchard Road shopping precinct. It is surrounded by multi-million dollar luxury landed homes known as good class bungalows and several embassies.
The Malaysian King’s property in the Tyersall Avenue area has been held by the family for more than a century. Once the deal with the Singapore government is completed, the family will own about 16.6 hectares, which analysts estimate could be worth at least S$3.6 billion ($2.8 billion).
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