Ambrose J:

This is a reference to this Court under s. 19 of the Land Acquisition Ordinance (Cap. 248) on the application of the trustees of the estate of MA Namazie, deceased, who object to the amount of compensation awarded in respect of a piece of land acquired by the Government for an agricultural settlement. This land consists of Lots 77, 25 and 10'da3, Mukim XII, Singapore, which are respectively comprised in Lease 4158 for 99 years from 1929, Statutory Grant 26839, and Statutory Grant 26840. The total area of the land is 406 acres 2 roods and 39 poles. The declaration under s. 5 of the Ordinance that these lands were required for a public purpose, namely, agricultural settlement, was published in the Government Gazette on 22 March 1957. The award of compensation made by the Collector of Land Revenue amounts to $508,092.50c.

The main question to be decided by us is the market value of the land on 22 April 1955, which is the date laid down in s. 2 of the Land Acquisition (Temporary Provisions) Ordinance, 1955.

The land is situated on the west side of Lim Chu Kang Road, Singapore. Its eastern boundary extends along the road between the 19th and 20th milestone for a distance of about 3,600 feet. Its western boundary extends along the foreshore of Singapore for a distance of about 4,600 feet. Lot 77 has an area of about 56 acres and consists of the Sungei Melayu valley, about ten acres of mangrove swamp, and about 15 acres of ordinary swamp. The assessors have inspected the land and agree with the view expressed by Mr. WE Reeve, the Government Valuer, that it is a semi-derelict rubber estate. An area of about 37'bd acres consists of immature rubber trees planted in 1941. The manager's bungalow was destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1942. An area of about 55 acres of rubber trees was cleared during the Japanese occupation and is now covered with scrub. An area of about 90 acres of rubber trees was destroyed by fire in 1956. An area of about 93'bd acres is fully planted with mature rubber trees.

Mr. CWA Sennett, a licensed appraiser called by the applicants, values the land at $1,016,875, calculated at the price of $2,500 an acre, after taking into consideration the potentialities for development of the land. He values the buildings on the land at $136,208. We think that Mr. Sennett's valuation is exaggerated.

We are of the opinion that the instances of comparable sales cited to us are not of much guidance owing to differences in locality or other circumstances. One instance, which relates to land in the same locality, is the sale of Lots 138 and 139, Mukim XII, consisting of an area of 52 acres 1 rood and 27 poles in February 1952, at $1,450 per acre. The title is a 99-year lease from 1939. This piece of land has no sea-front. The sale took place at the height of a speculative boom in land prices. If the sale had taken place on 22 April 1955 the price realized would not, in our estimation, have exceeded $1,100 per acre.

The Collector of Land Revenue, basing his award on the present use of the land and its primary use in the future as a rubber estate, has valued the land and buildings at $488,092.50c calculated at the rate of $1,200 per acre. In doing so, he acted on the opinion of the Government Valuer and appears to have made no allowance for the potentialities of the land.

Counsel for the applicants stresses three potentialities: the potentiality for subdivisional development of the coastal strip estimated to contain an area of 63'bd acres; the development potentiality of an area of about 360,000 square feet adjoining Lim Chu Kang Road for the construction of shophouses; and the possibility of developing the rest of the land excluding the Sungei Melayu valley for building purposes. Mr. Sennett, the appraiser called by the applicants, supports their Counsel's contentions. Mr. Reeve, the Government Valuer, expresses the view that none of the potentialities is realizable in the foreseeable future.

In our