Space supply for business parks could double by 2030

Thanks to the government's push for directives to create new industrial and tech parks.

The Singapore government has established a ‘strong understanding’ to retain the city-state’s spot as a major technology hub, Colliers International said. With this, the city-state could see its space supply for business parks and high-specification spaces doubled by 2030, the firm added.

The firm noted that the Lion City has seen the trials for pilot schemes on flexible land uses for industrial purposes.

“The Singapore government has been supporting the transformation with new national directives aimed at creating innovative new industrial and technology parks,” they explained.

Also read: Here's what kept Singapore from being Asia's best tech hub

Singapore placed next to Bangalore in the firm's list of Asia's best tech hub.

The Lion City topped in terms of sourcing talent in Asia reflecting the strength of the country’s educational and research facilities and their perceived international outlook. Moreover, the city-state ranked first overall on employment considerations which include political stability, ease of doing business, corporate tax rate, city infrastructure and English language capability.

The firm believes that the Fourth Industrial Revolution will bring opportunities and challenges alike to Singapore’s industrial landscape as industrialists embrace technologies such as Big Data and analytics, augmented reality, additive manufacturing, simulation, the Internet of Things (IOT) and autonomous robots.

“In our view, industrial spaces of the future should provide the 3 "A's": Accessibility, Affordability, Adaptability,” the firm explained.

They noted that Singapore could prove its position as a major tech hub as it attracted Facebook to establish its first data centre in Asia which is worth $1.4b. The social media giant has said that they have chosen Singapore as the home of their Asian data centre due to its robust infrastructure and access to fibre, a talented local workforce, and a great set of community partners, including the Singapore Economic Development Board and the Jurong Town Corporation.

The data centre will be located in Tanjong Kling and is eyed to start their operations by 2022. Upon completion, it will be an 11-storey building with an area of 170,000 sq m.