Seng Choon egg farm to move after land-use changes announced at Lim Chu Kang, area to be used for defence

Seng Choon egg farm is set to move from its current site, following a May 25 announcement regarding land-use changes in Lim Chu Kang.

The farm's managing director, Koh Yeow Koon told CNA it is working with the authorities on finding a new premise, adding that its lease will expire in 2036.

Seng Choon egg farm, which, according to its website, produces over 200 million eggs per year, had previously moved into its current 36-acre site in the agricultural estate of the Lim Chu Kang Agrotechnology Park in 2010.

Farms affected

It is among five farms that will be affected by the changes, according to a joint media release by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), National Parks Board (NParks) and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

The release noted that to better optimise land use, the land to the north of Lim Chu Kang that is currently designated for defence will be reallocated for future agricultural developments.

It added that the southern part of Lim Chu Kang will be repurposed for defence uses.

The release stated: "The land-use changes will allow the government to explore how the physical co-location of food and non-food farms to the north of Lim Chu Kang could benefit from shared facilities and integrated infrastructure planning for more efficient operations, better logistics and to lower production costs."

"In addition, the land-use changes will result in contiguous land that will better serve defence uses," it added.

Defence

Responding to CNA's queries, MINDEF said the terrain capacity for military training will be increased by the land-use change.

It said: "This will enhance training realism, support combined arms training across a wider range of training scenarios, and improve contiguity for platform operations – resulting in more effective training and operational readiness."

Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) camps in the area are not affected, it added.

"As we facilitate this change in land use, we will work with SFA and relevant agencies to handover the land parcels in the Lim Chu Kang north and take over the land parcels in Lim Chu Kang south when the farm leases expire," it said.

Affected farms informed early

There are currently no food farms in the north of Lim Chu Kang, CNA reported, adding that according to SFA, the land-use changes will progressively commence after the expiry of the farms' licence tenures.

CNA noted that other affected farms are Bollywood Farms, Gan Aquarium, Gallop Kranji Farm Resort and Malaysian Feedmills Farms.

The leases of Bollywood Farms and Gan Aquarium will expire in December 2026, CNA reported.

Gallop Kranji Farm Resort's lease will expire in March 2027, and Malaysian Feedmills Farms' lease ends in 2037.

The authorities told CNA that, for clarity and to provide sufficient lead time to plan their business and operations, all affected farms had been informed early.

"The three farms with leases/tenancies expiring in December 2026 and March 2027 were notified since 2020 that no further extensions would be granted," they said.

They added: "The remaining two farms with leases expiring in 2036 and 2037 have also been provided with at least 10 years' advance notice ahead of their lease expiry."