Three farms affected by Lim Chu Kang land-use changes seek lease extensions as expiry dates draw near

SINGAPORE: With less than a year to go until their leases expire, three farms in Lim Chu Kang are fighting for a chance to extend their tenures and hold on to their land.These farms – Bollywood Farms, Gan Aquarium and Gallop Kranji Farm Resort – are hoping that their leases can be extended for at least three more years to keep running the businesses they poured decades of work into."I know the authorities have given enough time, we understand all that," said Gallop Kranji Farm Resort founder Mani Shanker."But what we're merely asking is … from the time our lease finishes to the time of the cut-off point that they have to hand over the land, I think this space is something that they should look at allowing us to continue," he added.

"I think everybody in the farm will also agree that this little extension plays a very, very important part for us."The three farms are currently situated in the southern part of Lim Chu Kang, which will undergo land-use changes, the government announced last Monday (May 25).The government will repurpose the southern part of Lim Chu Kang for defence uses, while the land to the north of Lim Chu Kang that is currently designated for defence will be reallocated for future agricultural developments.Bollywood Farms and Gan Aquarium have leases until December 2026, while Gallop Kranji Farm Resort has a lease until March 2027.Another two farms are also affected: Seng Choon egg farm and Malaysian Feedmills Farms. But these have a longer runway, with leases expiring in 2036 and 2037, respectively, allowing them to continue operating for at least another 10 years.Authorities said on Monday that all affected farms were informed early for clarity and to give them sufficient lead time to plan their business and operations.The Singapore Food Agency (SFA), one of the authorities involved in the land-use changes, noted that the three farms with leases/tenancies expiring over the next year were notified since 2020 that no further lease renewals would be granted.At least two of those farms questioned the need to move out within the next year, given that Seng Choon and Malaysian Feedmills Farms would still be operating in the same area for at least a decade.At present, there are no food farms in the north of Lim Chu Kang.