http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/companies/others/ofs-move-site-pasir-ris-20130911
Published September 11, 2013
OFS to move to site in Pasir Ris
Woh Hup appointed to build new $261m campus; it will be ready by April 2015
By Lee U-Wen
[email protected]
THE Overseas Family School (OFS), one of the largest international schools in Singapore, is moving to a new $261 million campus in Pasir Ris.
Having secured a 30-year lease for the five-hectare site in June this year, Overseas Education Ltd - the mainboard-listed firm that runs OFS - said yesterday that it had appointed Woh Hup Limited to build the campus, starting this month.
The campus is located at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Elias Road. It will boast two 12-storey teaching blocks, a seven-storey administration block, a performing arts centre and auditorium, sports field and swimming pool, among other facilities.
The plan is to complete the project by April 2015, well in time for its school year that begins four months later in August, said Overseas Education's executive chairman and chief executive officer, David Alan Perry.
Even with a tight construction timeline, he remained confident that Woh Hup - one of the contractors invited to participate in the tender process - would meet the deadline.
"They are one of the biggest Singaporean construction companies, and they have a reputation for delivering on time. They have assured us that they can do it," said Mr Perry.
Overseas Education had earlier said that it would use the net proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO), launched earlier in the year, to help fund the cost of the campus. The 125 million new shares in the IPO was about 3.2 times subscribed.
OFS, which first opened here in 1991, has to move out of its existing premises on Paterson Road by June 30, 2015 because of the construction of the new Thomson MRT line.
The current campus is almost at full capacity with its 500 staff and 3,700 students. The new and larger home will be able to accommodate up to 4,800 students and about another hundred staff.
Despite OFS moving from its prime location just off Grange Road to a site all the way in the east near the airport, Mr Perry is confident that almost all parents will continue to keep their children enrolled in the school.
"The location was a concern among small numbers of parents, especially those with very young children. Having said that, the site in Pasir Ris is wonderful and we are all thrilled with it. The air is fresh and there's little congestion on the roads. We're near the beach and there is a beautiful sea view from the upper floors," said Mr Perry.
OFS offers the K-12 International Baccalaureate curriculum to children aged between three and 18 years old, and has four sections - kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school. Half of its students come from Asia.
Shares of Overseas Education ended trading at 78.5 cents yesterday, down half a cent.