Wednesday, March 16, 2011
HDB receives 9 bids for Sengkang site
HDB receives 9 bids for Sengkang site
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2300 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received nine bids for a residential site at Sengkang Square/Compassvale Road at the close of tender on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Keppel Land Realty at S$286.8 million. This translates to about S$502 per square foot per plot ratio.
The next highest bid of S$274.3 million was submitted by joint bidders Sunmaster Holdings, Garden Estates and TID Residential.
The 99-year leasehold land parcel has a site area of 17,700 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 53,100 square metres.
Executive director of CBRE Research, Li Hiaw Ho, said he expects the new residential project on the site to be able to fetch around S$1,000 per square foot.
He added that a ready pool of upgraders in Sengkang, Hougang and Punggol new towns will be attracted to the project.
A similar development, H2O Residences at Fernvale Link, was recently launched, with more than 200 units sold over two weekends.
The Sengkang Square site was launched for public tender on January 21 and is slated for a condominium housing development with some 530 dwelling units.
HDB said it will evaluate the bids and announce the final results within the next two weeks.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2300 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received nine bids for a residential site at Sengkang Square/Compassvale Road at the close of tender on Tuesday.
The highest bid came from Keppel Land Realty at S$286.8 million. This translates to about S$502 per square foot per plot ratio.
The next highest bid of S$274.3 million was submitted by joint bidders Sunmaster Holdings, Garden Estates and TID Residential.
The 99-year leasehold land parcel has a site area of 17,700 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 53,100 square metres.
Executive director of CBRE Research, Li Hiaw Ho, said he expects the new residential project on the site to be able to fetch around S$1,000 per square foot.
He added that a ready pool of upgraders in Sengkang, Hougang and Punggol new towns will be attracted to the project.
A similar development, H2O Residences at Fernvale Link, was recently launched, with more than 200 units sold over two weekends.
The Sengkang Square site was launched for public tender on January 21 and is slated for a condominium housing development with some 530 dwelling units.
HDB said it will evaluate the bids and announce the final results within the next two weeks.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Japan Quake May Have Slightly Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis, Theoretical Calculations Suggest
Japan Quake May Have Slightly Shortened Earth Days, Moved Axis, Theoretical Calculations Suggest
ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2011) — The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan March 11, 2011 may have slightly shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis.
Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake -- the fifth largest since 1900 -- affected Earth's rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).
The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude. Earth's figure axis should not be confused with its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space -- only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
In comparison, following last year's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, Gross estimated the Chile quake should have shortened the length of day by about 1.26 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimeters (3 inches). A similar calculation performed after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake revealed it should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches. How an individual earthquake affects Earth's rotation depends on its size (magnitude), location and the details of how the fault slipped.
Gross said that, in theory, anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation.
"Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents," he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake."
Gross said that while we can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure changes in the length of the day. However, since the position of the figure axis can be measured to an accuracy of about 5 centimeters (2 inches), the estimated 17-centimeter shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements. He and other scientists will be investigating this as more data become available.
Gross said the changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by earthquakes should not have any impacts on our daily lives. "These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time," he said. "People shouldn't worry about them."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- wong chee tat :)
ScienceDaily (Mar. 15, 2011) — The magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan March 11, 2011 may have slightly shortened the length of each Earth day and shifted its axis.
Using a United States Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, research scientist Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake -- the fifth largest since 1900 -- affected Earth's rotation. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second).
The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 centimeters (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude. Earth's figure axis should not be confused with its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet). This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space -- only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that.
Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined.
In comparison, following last year's magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile, Gross estimated the Chile quake should have shortened the length of day by about 1.26 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimeters (3 inches). A similar calculation performed after the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran earthquake revealed it should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's figure axis by about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches. How an individual earthquake affects Earth's rotation depends on its size (magnitude), location and the details of how the fault slipped.
Gross said that, in theory, anything that redistributes Earth's mass will change Earth's rotation.
"Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents," he said. "Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 1 meter (3.3 feet) over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake."
Gross said that while we can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure changes in the length of the day. However, since the position of the figure axis can be measured to an accuracy of about 5 centimeters (2 inches), the estimated 17-centimeter shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements. He and other scientists will be investigating this as more data become available.
Gross said the changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by earthquakes should not have any impacts on our daily lives. "These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time," he said. "People shouldn't worry about them."
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- wong chee tat :)
HDB to launch tender for Pasir Ris DBSS site
HDB to launch tender for Pasir Ris DBSS site
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2242 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for sale of a residential land at Pasir Ris Central under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The tender, which will be launched on March 16, will close at noon on May 31.
The 16,388-square-metre site has a maximum allowable gross floor area of over 45,800 square metres.
HDB estimates that 460 dwelling units can be built on the site, which is located near the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange.
The lease is for 103 years, including a 48-month construction period.
So far this year, HDB has sold one DBSS land parcel in Clementi town with an estimated yield of 770 units.
Other than the current site, another two DBSS sites will be launched for tender within the next few months.
One land parcel is at Fernvale Link, which can yield 790 units, and the other is at Bendeemer Road, where about 700 units can be built.
HDB plans to launch enough sites for 4,000 or more DBSS flats this year, provided there is sustained demand.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
By Jonathan Peeris | Posted: 15 March 2011 2242 hrs
SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching the tender for sale of a residential land at Pasir Ris Central under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The tender, which will be launched on March 16, will close at noon on May 31.
The 16,388-square-metre site has a maximum allowable gross floor area of over 45,800 square metres.
HDB estimates that 460 dwelling units can be built on the site, which is located near the Pasir Ris MRT station and bus interchange.
The lease is for 103 years, including a 48-month construction period.
So far this year, HDB has sold one DBSS land parcel in Clementi town with an estimated yield of 770 units.
Other than the current site, another two DBSS sites will be launched for tender within the next few months.
One land parcel is at Fernvale Link, which can yield 790 units, and the other is at Bendeemer Road, where about 700 units can be built.
HDB plans to launch enough sites for 4,000 or more DBSS flats this year, provided there is sustained demand.
- CNA/al
- wong chee tat :)
Watch out for the online 'boyfriend'
Watch out for the online 'boyfriend'
By Tanya Fong | Posted: 16 March 2011 0617 hrs
SINGAPORE - Some say it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.
But 19 Singaporean women who lost both money and their hearts on dating websites might disagree.
They had fallen prey to a resurgence of "Internet love scams", Channel NewsAsia has learnt.
Between October last year and January, the women - mostly from their late 20s to their 50s as well as a 73-year-old - were cheated of $787,000 in total by their online "boyfriends", police said.
The men, mostly foreigners, befriended the women through dating or social networking sites such as be2.com, zoosk.com, tagged.com and wayn.com.
After building a romance online with their victims, the fraudsters asked for money to be sent overseas for various reasons, such as being held at customs on their way to Singapore to meet the women.
One woman in her 30s lost $300,000 when she fell for the "marriage ruse" - her virtual boyfriend asked for a loan to process his father's inheritance and promised to come to Singapore to marry her.
Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, told Channel NewsAsia in an exclusive interview that she was cheated of $13,000 over three months by a man she befriended last August on dating website tagged.com.
The 40-year-old human resource manager chatted online every night, sometimes via webcam, with the so-called director of a London-based electronics firm.
"I felt he was sincere, and the relationship was real," she said.
He first asked if she would like to donate money to a church group in Africa.
She donated about $200 through a remittance house.
He then asked her to invest in his company. "I did my checks and the company existed. When I asked why his name wasn't on the board of directors, he said he was a sleeping partner and even had 'his lawyer' on the webcam," said Miss Tan.
After more than $10,000 was transferred, her "boyfriend" disappeared.
Channel NewsAsia contacted California-based tagged.com which has 100 million users worldwide and a spokesman said it takes the issue "very seriously". "Tagged is committed to the safety and security of its users in every country and always stands ready to assist law enforcement to resolve any abuse complaints," he said.
Police believe most of the fraudsters may be African, although the women might be led to believe they are Caucasians.
And enforcement is difficult when there are fake identities and personal details.
Police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Lau Kian Keong said: "Be careful when befriending strangers online. Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position or reveal personal details about yourself or transfer money to them through banks or remittance agencies."
In Singapore, matching and dating site eSynchrony.com only allows clients to date locally.
It also blocks overseas IP addresses and requires subscribers to register with their identity card or employment pass.
- TODAY /ls
- wong chee tat :)
By Tanya Fong | Posted: 16 March 2011 0617 hrs
SINGAPORE - Some say it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.
But 19 Singaporean women who lost both money and their hearts on dating websites might disagree.
They had fallen prey to a resurgence of "Internet love scams", Channel NewsAsia has learnt.
Between October last year and January, the women - mostly from their late 20s to their 50s as well as a 73-year-old - were cheated of $787,000 in total by their online "boyfriends", police said.
The men, mostly foreigners, befriended the women through dating or social networking sites such as be2.com, zoosk.com, tagged.com and wayn.com.
After building a romance online with their victims, the fraudsters asked for money to be sent overseas for various reasons, such as being held at customs on their way to Singapore to meet the women.
One woman in her 30s lost $300,000 when she fell for the "marriage ruse" - her virtual boyfriend asked for a loan to process his father's inheritance and promised to come to Singapore to marry her.
Another victim, who wanted to be known only as Miss Tan, told Channel NewsAsia in an exclusive interview that she was cheated of $13,000 over three months by a man she befriended last August on dating website tagged.com.
The 40-year-old human resource manager chatted online every night, sometimes via webcam, with the so-called director of a London-based electronics firm.
"I felt he was sincere, and the relationship was real," she said.
He first asked if she would like to donate money to a church group in Africa.
She donated about $200 through a remittance house.
He then asked her to invest in his company. "I did my checks and the company existed. When I asked why his name wasn't on the board of directors, he said he was a sleeping partner and even had 'his lawyer' on the webcam," said Miss Tan.
After more than $10,000 was transferred, her "boyfriend" disappeared.
Channel NewsAsia contacted California-based tagged.com which has 100 million users worldwide and a spokesman said it takes the issue "very seriously". "Tagged is committed to the safety and security of its users in every country and always stands ready to assist law enforcement to resolve any abuse complaints," he said.
Police believe most of the fraudsters may be African, although the women might be led to believe they are Caucasians.
And enforcement is difficult when there are fake identities and personal details.
Police spokesman Deputy Superintendent Lau Kian Keong said: "Be careful when befriending strangers online. Don't put yourself in a vulnerable position or reveal personal details about yourself or transfer money to them through banks or remittance agencies."
In Singapore, matching and dating site eSynchrony.com only allows clients to date locally.
It also blocks overseas IP addresses and requires subscribers to register with their identity card or employment pass.
- TODAY /ls
- wong chee tat :)
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