JTC Corporation is seeking cutting-edge ideas on how to intensify land use and speed up project construction – and has set aside a $5 million innovation fund to develop the best suggestions.

All Singapore-based companies, including tertiary institutions, research institutes, public sector agencies and private organisations, can send in proposals.

Individuals who want to submit a proposal must partner an organisation.

Foreign entities will also have to partner a local organisation or have a local presence. And Singapore must be used as its base to own and manage all intellectual property rights developed.

JTC wants new layouts and configurations that will help improve land efficiency as well as ideas on how to increase the parking capacity of aircraft and the plot ratio of runway access hangers.

Companies can also suggest ways to reduce the construction time of roads by at least 30 per cent and speed up the building of industrial infrastructure to within 12 months or less.

JTC said conventional methods of road construction typically take about 12 months per kilometre while building a substation usually takes up to 15 months.

JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said: ‘Innovation is of high priority to JTC and is key to sustaining Singapore’s competitive edge as an investment location.

‘We are constantly on the lookout for creative infrastructure solutions to develop and meet the evolving needs of business operations.’

The trial period for each project is capped at two years.

The amount of funds awarded to each project will depend on the quality of the proposal and its implementation potential.

The closing date for submissions is June 7 and applicants will be notified of the results of their proposals by the end of the year.

This is the second time JTC has called for such submissions and there are plans to make it an annual exercise.

Last March, the agency launched its inaugural JTC Innovation Fund, calling for ideas that would intensify land use and create new industrial space.

It awarded a total of $900,000 to three research projects aimed at making JTC’s industrial parks more environmentally sustainable.

Two projects were submitted by the Nanyang Technological University and one by the National University of Singapore.

Source: Straits Times, 31 Mar 2011

(SINGAPORE) JTC yesterday launched a 60-year leasehold industrial site at Ubi Road 1/Ubi Avenue 4 for sale by public tender.

According to its announcement last month, a developer has committed to a bid price of not less than $29.38 million, or $88 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the site.

The 1.24 hectare site on the reserve list under the Government Land Sales Programme has a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.5. It is zoned for Business 1 development, which means light and clean industry and warehouse uses are allowed.

According to Colliers International industrial director Tan Boon Leong, the site is ‘an attractive plot’, due to its size and proximity to MRT stations. ‘This site is much smaller in hectares, therefore it is more bite-sized. It is also between two MRT stations – Tai Seng and MacPherson.’

In addition, the site is close to the 3.5 ha industrial site won last August by Oxley Rising, which offered a bid of $158.1 million, or $169 psf ppr.

The Oxley Rising site, which has a 2.5 plot ratio and is also zoned for Business 1 development, had 11 bidders, including companies like Qingdao Construction (Singapore) and Sim Lian Holdings.

Mr Tan said the Oxley Rising site has a better frontage, but the size of the Ubi Road 1/Ubi Avenue 4 plot will make it popular. He expects competition for this site to be ‘hot’, as ‘current sentiment is good for doing industrial work’.

The tender for this site will close at 11am on March 7.

Source: Business Times, 25 Jan 2011

Move allows it to focus on major projects, promote market competition

INDUSTRIAL landlord JTC Corporation has embarked on the second phase of its exercise to sell off many of its industrial properties so it can focus on developing new ideas to give Singapore an edge.

The move also aims to promote greater competition in the market.

JTC is now selling 21 blocks of flatted factories and amenity centres mainly in areas such as Tai Seng, Kolam Ayer, Kallang Basin, Bedok and Kampong Ubi.

It has not put forward a guide figure but reports suggest the total could be in the range of $600 million to $700 million.

The first phase of divestments was finalised in 2008 when JTC sold 39 high-rise ready-built factories worth a combined $1.7 billion to Temasek Holdings unit Mapletree Investments.

The latest portfolio will be divided into two tranches according to location, tenure and size, with the two-stage tender process closing on March 1.

The firm is inviting potential buyers to submit business proposals to bid for the portfolio of more than 300,000 sq m.

Shortlised parties will then be invited to participate in a further stage, JTC said.

JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said the latest divestment phase is progressing well with the two-stage tender providing a rigorous process to find a suitable buyer for each of the two tranches.

‘One of the objectives of the divestment exercise is to promote active competition in the industrial property market in Singapore so tenants will benefit from more options and choices.’

DTZ chief executive Ho Tian Lam added that it is rare that an industrial portfolio of this size is made available for potential buyers. ‘We anticipate that this tender exercise will attract not only local interest but also foreign investors.’

Last month, DTZ was appointed the real estate consultant to manage and coordinate the second phase.

Mr Ong Kah Seng, Cushman & Wakefield’s senior manager for research, said the tender response is likely to be ‘encouraging’, with active participation and optimistic offer prices from bidders.

‘The optimism is supported by increasing investor interest due to the strong tenant demand base and an increasing recognition of industrial properties as investable assets.’

Rents are likely to enjoy gradual increases in the coming years, supported by the economic recovery, he added.

Mr Khiatani has said previously that JTC sold such facilities as it felt the private sector market was mature enough.

JTC said yesterday it will continue to focus on developing large-scale and innovative infrastructure projects that can create a differentiating advantage for Singapore. These include two underground rock caverns for oil storage on Jurong Island and a $60 million offshore marine centre in Tuas to be completed this year.

Source: STraits Times, 11 Jan 2011

 NATIONAL industrial infrastructure developer JTC Corporation yesterday said it will launch a public tender for a 1.24 ha industrial site in Ubi on the reserve list.

This comes after it accepted an application from a developer to put the site on sale. JTC said that the developer has committed to a bid price of at least $29.38 million. It will launch the tender for the plot of land – made available for sale on Oct 30 last year through the reserve list system – in about four weeks.

The site is located between Ubi Road 1 and Ubi Ave 4, and is zoned for ‘Business 1′ use, which means it can house clean and light industry firms – which includes computer software development and printing and publishing companies.

The land has a maximum gross floor ratio of 2.5 and a lease period of 60 years. The successful developer must complete the project in 96 months.

Source: Business Times, 31 Dec 2010

THE ‘Jurong Island version 2.0′ initiative – to further boost the Singapore petrochemical industry’s competitiveness in the coming decade – will be fleshed out and ready by mid-2011, BT has learnt.

In connection with this, JTC Corporation yesterday called two more related tenders for the initiative jointly led by JTC and the Economic Development Board (EDB) – one for a consultant to conduct a feasibility study on a people mover system there; and the second covering consultancy studies for water (including desalination and waste water recycling).

‘The JI 2.0 initiative is well on its way, with all the recommendations ready by the middle of next year,’ once all the studies by the various government agencies involved are completed, said JTC director Heah Soon Poh.

The move to ramp up the competitiveness of Jurong Island – home to 95 petrochemical companies with over $31 billion of investments – was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when he opened Shell’s new US$3 billion petrochemical complex in May.

It will look at five key areas of energy, logistics and transportation, feedstock options, environment and water to improve energy efficiency and overcome resource limitations on the island.

Asked what type of people mover system – for example, sky trains or light rail transit – would be suitable for transporting workers to and from Jurong Island, Mr Seah said: ‘We are spreading the net wide, to see what is the best possible solution, be it buses, taxis, rail or skytrains or others.

‘We want the consultant to come in and look at the best and most efficient solution for the mid to long-term future, and don’t want to limit this.’

He said that JTC had also looked into having a people mover system for One-North, the 200 ha research and development (R&D) hub next to Singapore’s Science Parks, ‘but that hosted a different population from Jurong Island, which is unique’, he added.

JTC also earlier disclosed that it was studying the possibility of building a second road link from the mainland to Jurong Island to facilitate the daily commute of the fast-growing workforce there.

Some 38,000 workers – 8,000 of whom are full-time – currently enter the island daily, and their numbers are expected to swell in the coming years.

JTC is also now considering new water technologies, including harnessing waste heat for desalination and recycling of waste water, so as to ensure ample water supplies for the petrochemical plants there. This will be part of the latest consultancy study for water.

‘They need a lot of water, and different kinds at that,’ Mr Heah said.

Other agencies involved in the initiative – which will also take in industry players’ input on their needs – include the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, the Public Utilities Board and the Energy Market Authority.

Source: Business Times, 2 Oct 2010

(SINGAPORE) JTC Corp, which is now surfacing from the global financial crisis, is planning several new infrastructure projects.

New proposals aimed at anchoring new investments in Singapore include an offshore and marine centre, a general aviation centre and a medtech centre.

The offshore and marine centre will offer companies common facilities along the waterfront to optimise the use of scarce waterfront land in Singapore.

When completed in 2011, the facility at Tuas View will draw new and quality manufacturing activities to Singapore, JTC said.

The estimated infrastructure cost of the project is $60 million.

The agency will also build a general aviation centre at Seletar Aerospace Park with shared facilities for training, line maintenance and parking of smaller aircraft, as well as a medical technology (medtech) cluster.

Leading medical technology industries will be put together in the medtech cluster in Tukang Innovation Park. Phase 1 of the project will be completed by 2013, and will yield 75,000 sq m of space.

The entire cluster will yield 185,000 sq m of space when it is fully developed. It aims to support the projected $5 billion worth of medical equipment manufacturing in Singapore by 2013.

Other concepts which are now being studied include a surface finishing complex, which will integrate activities along the value chain for surface finishing companies.

The group is bullish about the prospects of the industrial sector even as its properties were hit by weak global economic conditions in 2009.

In May, JTC said that net allocation of its ready-built facilities (RBF) returned to positive territory in the first quarter of this year after six consecutive negative quarters.

Net allocation hit 8,900 square metres in Q1 – a turnaround from the fourth quarter of 2009, when it fell 1,300 sq metres – the government agency said in its quarterly facilities report.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said that the group did better in the second half of 2009 compared to the first six months.

And while there was a slowdown across some industry clusters in 2009, Mr Khiatani is confident that JTC’s investments will pay off in the long-term.

‘As of now, we are monitoring the market very closely, but we do not get a sense that there will be a reversal,’ he said.

JTC is also exploring novel ways of reducing the construction time for industrial facilities in Singapore.

The group is looking into construction methods and technologies that can reduce the construction time by 10-15 per cent.

Source: Business Times, 7 Sep 2010

Developing bigger industrial projects allows it to integrate companies to draw synergies

INDUSTRIAL landlord JTC Corporation is broadening its role beyond property management into project development.

JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said yesterday that several facilities in the offshore and marine, precision engineering and medical technology sectors worth hundreds of millions of dollars are on the drawing board.

It is also looking to further divest its flatted factories, as it shifts its focus to bigger industrial developments that can ‘integrate companies together to draw unique synergies’.

JTC sold $1.7 billion worth of high-rise, ready- built properties to Mapletree Investments in April 2008. Mr Khiatani said JTC divested such facilities because it felt that the market was mature enough.

‘We wanted to focus on the bigger, more capital- intensive industry integration projects…The remaining facilities, yes, we plan to divest them and we’ll do that at the right time,’ he said.

Speaking at a briefing on JTC’s annual report for last year, Mr Khiatani added that innovative infrastructure that allowed for synergies was key to differentiating Singapore and keeping it competitive.

‘In order to ensure that Singapore remains an attractive location, we have to offer unique infrastructure solutions. We see ourselves playing the role of an industrial infrastructure innovator…using infrastructure as a differentiating advantage for Singapore,’ he added.

One JTC initiative is a $60 million offshore marine centre in Tuas that will be completed next year.

JTC sees this as a way of optimising scarce waterfront land to attract new and quality manufacturing activities, such as the making of offshore and marine equipment.

Waterfront facilities are now owned by companies, which means that other firms cannot access them even when they are not in use. The new initiative would allow for better coordination, letting the waterfront be shared and providing different firms access when needed.

Mr Khiatani – who took over the helm at JTC last October – added that having common facilities also meant that individual companies would not need to invest in these on their own. Clustering complementary industry activities could bring cost savings and higher returns, he said.

JTC said yesterday it is also studying the feasibility of a surface-finishing complex with shared services and utilities. Its other initiatives include a general aviation centre, biologics facility and medical technology cluster. JTC also plans to reduce the construction time for industrial facilities, with the use of precast and prefabrication works.

Among JTC’s other projects is the $90 million CleanTech One, situated near Nanyang Technological University, which is expected to be completed next year. This facility will incorporate eco-friendly features, including a dehumidifier powered by solar energy and a biodigester to decompose food waste cleanly. One of two underground rock caverns for oil storage on Jurong Island is expected to be ready by 2013, while phase one of the Seletar Aerospace Park has been completed.

Mr Khiatani said most of JTC’s projects are for the long term and would not be as affected even if the global economic recovery did not take hold.

‘In certain segments, if we see a strong slowdown, we might slow down some of those projects,’ he said. ‘But while we are monitoring the market closely, we do not get a sense that there’s going to be a strong reversal.’

The rock cavern project and other initiatives for Jurong Island would have proceeded, regardless of the economy’s health, as they are crucial to repositioning the petrochemical industry to keep it competitive and sustainable, he added.

Knight Frank group managing director Danny Yeo said JTC’s move to take on the big-picture role of developing infrastructure in key growth industries identified by the Government – in addition to its role as landlord – is a step in the right direction.

But he added that once industrial properties are in private hands, rents might fluctuate more in response to market conditions.

JTC said the occupancy rate for its ready-built facilities was 97.4 per cent in the last financial year.

Source: Straits Times, 7 Sep 2010

JTC said yesterday that two sites – at Yishun and the Biopolis – will be put up for sale by tender. The site at Yishun Street 23/Yishun Avenue 9 is 4.65 ha and has a 60-year lease. Near Yishun Industrial Park, it is to be developed as a ramp-up factory with direct vehicle access to all units. It will be launched on Monday and sold under the Industrial Government Land Sales programme. The tender closes on Oct 4.

The Biopolis phase five site, for laboratory buildings at one-north, will be launched through the Concept and Price Tender programme. The land area is 0.96 ha, with a 30-plus-30 years renewal tenure. The launch date is Oct 4 and developers will have until Dec 3 to submit tenders.

JTC said details for the two tenders will be published on its website on the launch dates.

The tenders were announced at JTC’s Industrial Property Exchange conference yesterday. JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said JTC is ‘mindful that an efficient and competitive industrial space market is crucial for Singapore’s manufacturing sector’.

JTC will work with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to ‘continue to provide adequate land supply through the various land-launch mechanisms’, he said.

Source: Business Times, 21 Aug 2010

Net take-up of its ready-built facilities turns negative while prepared industrial land demand rises

(SINGAPORE) JTC Corporation has turned in a mixed report card for the second quarter in terms of demand for its industrial properties.

Net take-up of its ready-built facilities fell into negative territory from the previous quarter, while take-up of its prepared land rose.

Net allocation of ready-built facilities was a negative 2,700 square metres in Q2, down from a positive 9,400 sq m in Q1.

Higher lease terminations were the culprit. Businesses returned 27,200 sq m of space – more than double the 12,700 sq m in the previous quarter.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 80 per cent or 21,800 sq m of the terminations in Q2.

Also, close to half of the terminations, involving 13,400 sq m of space, happened as companies consolidated their operations.

Standard factories bore the brunt of this, as 14,700 sq m of space in such properties was returned.

Larger gross take-up could not make up for the higher terminations. Gross allocation of ready-built facilities was 24,500 sq m in Q2, up 11 per cent from 22,100 sq m in Q1.

Despite the negative net take-up, the occupancy rate for ready-built facilities remained relatively steady at 97.4 per cent in Q2, dropping 0.1 of a percentage point from Q1.

At end-Q2, JTC had four ready-built facilities under development. Two at Seletar Aerospace Park and one at CleanTech Park are due to be completed next year, and Fusionopolis Phase 2A should be ready by Q2 2013.

Separately, JTC’s prepared industrial land enjoyed a 5 per cent increase in net take-up, to 24.4 ha in Q2 from 23.2 ha in Q1.

A drop in terminations contributed to the improvement. Businesses returned 21.4 ha of land, down 43 per cent from 37.8 ha a quarter earlier.

Manufacturing-related and supporting industries contributed the bulk of terminations. Lower terminations boosted net take-up even as gross take-up fell. Gross allocation was 45.8 ha in Q2, slipping 25 per cent from 61 ha in Q1.

Jurong Island saw a surge in demand. Gross take-up there was 37.1 ha in Q2, more than two times the 16.2 ha in the previous quarter.

Source: Business Times, 19 Aug 2010

SOLARIS, an extension of the Fusionopolis research cluster at Buona Vista, has been 60 per cent leased ahead of its completion by the end of the year.

The developer Soilbuild Group is in ‘advanced negotiations’ with other potential tenants.

Soilbuild’s executive director Low Soon Sim gave BT these updates following the release of the company’s second quarter results last week.

 Organisations which have signed leases at Solaris include government agency Spring Singapore, software designer Autodesk, video game creator and publisher Ubisoft, and green building consultancy Kaer.

Spring Singapore is Solaris’ largest tenant to date, taking up some 15 per cent of the total net lettable area of around 430,000 sq ft. Tenants should be moving in in the early part of next year, Mr Low said.

Soilbuild won the tender for Phase 2B of Fusionopolis in April 2008 and put in around $140 million to develop Solaris on the 83,248 sq ft site.

The building is designed by famed architect Ken Yeang and will be decked with roof gardens and other energy saving features.

Most of the space at the Solaris is set aside for offices. There will also be a childcare centre, and retail outlets will occupy some 3,000 sq ft of space. Soilbuild plans to start marketing the retail space this quarter.

JTC Corporation, which oversees the development of Fusionopolis as a research centre for the infocommunication, media, science and engineering industries, expects the completion of Solaris to boost human traffic flow in the area.

Fusionopolis Phase 1, which was officially opened in October 2008, currently has a working population of around 2,500 people. According to The Straits Times, business has been poor for retail outlets there. Just about 57 per cent of the retail space has been taken up.

JTC estimates that the daily average human traffic flow will increase to 4,000 when Solaris is completed. The working population could grow further as Fusionopolis expands through more phases.

Source: Business Times, 17 Aug 2010