Some owners of the fish farms and nursery affected by the Tengah Air Base’s expansion plans said they needed time to digest the news before deciding what to do, since it came like a bolt from the blue for them.

The occupants of the affected plots at Murai Farmway were served notices of compulsory acquisition on Tuesday, instructing them to “deliver vacant possession of the (respective) properties by Jan 31, 2019”.

Mr Mac Teo, who manages his family’s business Koon Lee Nursery, is concerned about the “uncertainty as to whether (they) can find a place to relocate”. He recently added new shelving and storage fixtures as part of a 10-year improvement plan for the nursery.

“We felt secure because we thought there are 10 more years before our lease expires ... The National Parks Board has not been able to share more information about new land available for tender. It is the uncertainty that is worrying,” the 41-year-old said yesterday.

Mr Teo said he hopes the authorities will be “flexible” in enforcing the acquisition notice, especially since it is a challenge to find new nursery plots.

“We are still considering what we can do, if we get a new place, or if we have to fold the business,” he said, adding that the nursery may have to stop replacing plants that have been sold.

The Teo family had sold their house to lease the plot for the 2ha nursery, and have been living on its premises since 1987. Mr Teo lives there with his wife, son, parents and brother.

His father, Ronnie, told TODAY: “We sold our house to buy this place ... Whatever the authorities want to do, they will, what more can we say?”

Over at Fisco Aquarium, which sells and exports ornamental fish, the elderly owner, who declined to be named, said the notice came “suddenly”. They still “need time to process” the news and consider their next step, he added.

“Why did they inform us when there are only 18 months to the deadline?” asked the man, whose aquarium has been at Murai Farmway since 1988.

“There is too little time left for us to make concrete plans, this has been quite sudden,” said the owner, who is in his 70s.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by KELLY NG

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