Grand opening of Marina One and DUO

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak officially opened Marina One in Marina South (pictured) and DUO in Ophir-Rochor on Monday (15 January).To mark this important occasion, the waterfall and accompanying lights in Marina One’s Green Heart were turned on, while a pyrotechnic display was held there. At the same time, DUO’s façade was illuminated in a dazzling showcase of light.The two landmark projects were developed by M+S Pte Ltd, a 60:40 joint venture between Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional and Singapore’s Temasek, respectively.“We are very proud to open both Marina One and DUO, which are testament to, and symbolic of the long-standing strong partnership between Malaysia and Singapore,” said M+S Chairman Tan Sri Azman Yahya.“We hope that these two developments will serve as lasting visible symbols of the harmonious bilateral ties shared between our two countries for future generations,” he added.Completed last November, Marina One is a multi-awarded project with a gross floor area of around 3.67 million sq ft.One of its highlights is its Green Heart, Singapore’s largest biodiversity garden within an integrated development in the central business district. It features a three-storey waterfall and 386 different plant species in an area equal to five Olympic-sized swimming pools.Aside from housing Asia’s largest prime Grade-A office floor plates, the development also comprises a retail podium and high-end residences. In fact, the 1,042-unit Marina One Residences has recently been completed and the un-launched tower will be put up for sale this year.Meanwhile, DUO is a Green Mark Platinum-certified tower with a gross floor area of 1.73 million sq ft. Completed last June, the project consists of nearly 570,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, Hyatt’s Andaz boutique hotel, 56,000 sq ft of retail space and 660 upscale apartments.Channel NewsAsia reported that over 70 percent of Marina One and DUO’s office space have been taken up before the official launch on Monday.Notably, both projects are the result of the 2010 land swap deal, whereby Singapore gave four land parcels in Marina South and two sites in Ophir-Rochor to M+S. In exchange, Malaysia relinquished its ownership over the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.Source: CommercialGuru, 17/1/18