A hotel site in Katong that contains the former Joo Chiat police station fetched an unexpectedly high top bid of $352.8 million in an eight-way contest on Tuesday.

The offer, which works out to $1,326 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio, was lodged by a tie-up between Master Contract Services and Keong Hong Construction.

It outstripped consultants' expectations of up to $1,080 psf ppr and pipped the second highest bid of $1,208 psf ppr from Chip Eng Seng unit CEL Residential Development.

The 99-year leasehold plot has a gross floor area of 266,041 sq ft and is at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road.

The sale of the hotel site was triggered in November last year, after an unnamed developer agreed to bid at least $160 million for the parcel.

The site could yield around 600 rooms.