The Singapore government has increased the number of industrial sites for sale in the second half of 2016 despite signs of an oversupply in the sector.

The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced its twice-yearly Industrial Government Land Sales (IGLS) programme for the second half of 2016 on 28 June with seven sites in the confirmed list and five sites in the reserve list.

Total site area in the programme is 11.70 hectares. These consist of seven land parcels in Tuas South, two in Tampines, two in Woodlands, and one at Tuas Bay Close.

This is an increase over the six confirmed sites and four in the reserve list that was launched in the first half of the year. However the total site area for its release then was 12.24 hectares.

“The government will continue to release sufficient land through the IGLS programme to ensure an adequate supply of industrial space in Singapore”, said the MTI in its statement on the industrial sites' release.

Under the reserve list system, the Singapore government will only release the site for sale if an interested party submits an application for the site to be put up for tender with an offer of a minimum purchase price that is acceptable, or if the site receives more than one unrelated party submitting minimum prices that meets the government’s criteria.