68-74 Thomson Road will be acquired by the government and be demolished following concerns over the strength of the building’s foundation. Photo: Google Street View
A four-storey building along Thomson Road, located near an upcoming tunnel for the North-South Corridor (NSC), will be acquired by the government and be demolished following concerns over the strength of the building’s foundation.
68-74 Thomson Road is a 57-year-old building comprising 12 residential units and four commercial units.
In a joint statement released on 16 April, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said the building has to be acquired and demolished before excavation works for the tunnel can commence.
In early 2020, before the start of construction works within the vicinity, an impact assessment study of the building was conducted by LTA-appointed qualified persons. The study showed that the building’s foundation needs to be strengthened before excavation works for the NSC tunnel could be started.
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“To ensure safety during the strengthening works, LTA assisted the occupants to move out of the building,” they said.
By February this year, all occupants had moved out and were able to secure alternative places of residence or business.
Thereafter, detailed tests were conducted by LTA to validate the concrete strength for the design of the strengthening works.
“These tests, which were invasive in nature, could only be conducted after the occupants had vacated their units,” read the joint statement.
The test results showed that the concrete strength of the building was “lower than that needed to safely carry out the strengthening works”.
An independent inspection conducted by BCA in February this year concurred with the assessment of LTA that the building was “safe for occupation if there was no major construction works in the vicinity” and that it would be impractical to carry out the strengthening works.
With this, the government decided to acquire and demolish the building.
SLA had already gazetted the acquisition of the affected land on 16 April.
SLA and LTA said they will “work closely with the affected owners and assist them through the acquisition process”.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
