JTC and ST Engineering team up for Punggol Digital District's Open Digital Platform

PDD will be the first to integrate physical and digital infrastructures from the ground up.

JTC and ST Engineering will partner to integrate smart city solutions for the Open Digital Platform across the 50 ha Punggol Digital District (PDD), an announcement revealed.

Compared to other existing business parks and districts where physical infrastructure and digital solutions are developed separately, PDD is set with a full integration of digital infrastructure from the ground up alongside the physical planning and development of the site.

“Besides making our work more efficient, we hope it can also enhance the convenience and experience of people working in the district,” JTC CEO Ng Lang said.

Both JTC and ST Engineering will co-invest equally for the project.

The open digital platform will integrate smart city solutions including facilities, building and estate management systems, district cooling system, pneumatic waste conveyancing system, autonomous goods delivery systems, access and security systems, carparks system, traffic lights system, and autonomous vehicles.

Through the integration, the platform will deliver centralised management for all district operations. It is also armed with real-time access to information on what is happening around the district which can cut time taken by estate managers to identify and react to potential problems.

In addition, the platform’s predictive analytics and pre-emptive solutions will let estate managers to optimise and control resources by analysing data from sensors and IoTs across the District. The PDD platform is also interoperable with GovTech-developed Smart Nation Sensor Platform to allow wider sharing of sensor data with public agencies to improve planning and delivery of public services.

ST Engineering president and CEO Vincent Chong said that the partnership is part of the firm’s smart city drive to contribute to Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative.

“We look forward to contributing our integrated technology and engineering expertise, as well as our network of talent and resources towards building Singapore’s first digital district,” he commented.

Meanwhile, future tenants will have biometric access to facilities whilst visitors can access them through their mobile phones. According to ST Engg, tenants of the JTC Business Park can also save costs due to optimisation of building systems.

Data on the Open Digital Platform will be available to academics, researchers, startups and small & medium enterprises (SMEs) to encourage them to develop digital or urban solutions for PDD. A digital replica of the entire district will be accessible for contributors to do safe testing of solutions before deploying them. 

PDD will be a mixed-use business district that is integrated with the new Singapore Institute of Technology campus. It is also poised to be a digital and cybersecurity hub.