Petrochemicals industry’s impending growth requires ‘land intensification’

WITH the world’s largest oil/petrochemical companies like ExxonMobil and PetroChina planning even more investments here, Singapore is studying how to intensify land use for the industry. This follows JTC Corporation’s recent foray into building underground oil/chemicals storage caverns on Jurong Island and its plans for offshore floating oil storage to complement land reclamation on the petrochemicals-complex island.

JTC called a tender this week for a consultant on this, specifying that ‘only tenderers with proven experience and expertise in related feasibility studies as well as the designing, construction and development of local or overseas petrochemical facilities are eligible’.

JTC’s latest ‘land intensification’ study for the petrochemicals industry is yet another avenue it is exploring to stretch Singapore’s limited land resources. This started last month when it called for a consultant to study land intensification for the offshore and marine sector, given the shortage of sites, especially with waterfront access.

JTC said that with energy and chemicals accounting for 38.6 per cent of the Republic’s manufacturing output, its challenge is to see how it can intensify land use or create more land to support the industry’s growth.

For its latest petrochemicals study, the consultant will look at areas including aggregation/sharing of common flare towers, turnaround areas and other facilities, as well as locating relevant operations in multi-storey structures or stack-up concepts. The consultant will also study derivative units at a given petrochemicals site and the units’ requirements (like water and electricity, as well as regulatory and safety buffers), and identify potential land use areas that can be improved.

The latest study is important, given that biggies like ExxonMobil – currently building its second world-scale petrochem complex here, costing an estimated US$5 billion – are planning yet more projects. So also is PetroChina, which bought Singapore Petroleum Company (SPC) for S$3.2 billion, giving it a half-stake in the 290,000 barrels per day refinery of Singapore Refining Company (SRC), among various SPC assets.

In response to queries about JTC’s current move to also carry out land reclamation at Ayer Chawan Basin – which is next to the ExxonMobil (EM) and SRC facilities – an EM spokeswoman told BT: ‘We are evaluating additional investments in Asia Pacific, including a potential diesel project at our Singapore refinery. But we’re unable to provide additional comment at this time.’

This is apparently for another major clean fuels investment, a hydro-desulphurisation plant, to produce ultra- low-sulphur diesel at ExxonMobil’s US$11 billion refining/petrochemical Singapore facility, already its largest manufacturing site worldwide.

PetroChina, say sources, is also keen to build on its SPC investment here, especially to increase the complexity of the SRC refinery, which it jointly owns with Chevron. The upgrading of the SRC refinery could also result in the boosting of the refining capacity, they said.

Currently, SRC is doing front-end engineering design on a ultra-low-sulphur gasoline plant and a 60-70 megawatt cogeneration plant to supply the refinery with steam, cooling water and electricity. The final investment decision for the two projects, costing an estimated US$300-400 million, is expected by year-end.

Source: Business Times, 7 Aug 2010

It’s also enhancing cluster knowledge, says chief executive

(SINGAPORE) With a long list of new and ongoing projects to look after, JTC Corporation’s chief executive officer Manohar Khiatani hardly has time for hobbies.

He would like to pick up golf, but new projects such as a proposed medical technology park and a new complex for the surface finishing sector are keeping him busy.

Mr Khiatani, 50, took over the helm at JTC last October. Prior to that, he was deputy managing director at the Economic Development Board (EDB) where he had spent over 10 years in various other positions including director (Europe) and director (logistics and transport engineering).

Barely a year into his new job, Mr Khiatani is already rolling out new projects. The proposed medical technology (medtech) park is one of his more immediate tasks.

The park will be located on a 7.4 hectare site in the Tukang area and will offer 185,000 square metres of space when it is ready.

JTC plans to develop the park in stages, with the first phase expected to yield 75,000 sq m of space when it is completed by late 2013.

The park will provide basic space which medtech companies can retrofit for their specialised needs. There will also be facilities which firms can share so that starting up can be cheaper and faster. JTC’s plan is to create synergy by housing equipment manufacturers, suppliers and other supporting firms together.

A second key project, one which is still being conceptualised, is a complex for companies involved in surface finishing.

These firms use electroplating and other processes to make metal products more durable, and they service the automobile, electronics, telecommunications and many other industries.

As with the medtech park, the complex will have common facilities for tenants. They will be able to share the treatment of industrial waste water, the recycling of treated water and other services. JTC intends to minimise the complex’s water usage and carbon footprint.

More projects could be in the pipeline. ‘We want to enhance our innovation capacity, particularly in areas such as land intensification and optimisation, energy efficiency and built environment sustainability,’ Mr Khiatani says.

But it is not just concrete projects that Mr Khiatani is focused on. He also wants JTC to deepen relationships with industries so that it can build the right facilities for them.

‘JTC has to be more than just a landlord,’ he says. ‘We want to better understand the needs of our customers, the industries they operate in, and work together with them to develop innovative infrastructure solutions.’

JTC restructured its organisation last year to try to achieve this. Business units had been grouped according to property types but they now serve key sectors such as electronics, media, bio-medicals and clean technology.

‘We are now developing a deeper understanding of strategic industry clusters,’ Mr Khiatani shares. ‘With this cluster knowledge, our officers are now able to engage our customers more deeply and holistically. Certainly more so than a normal landlord,’ he says.

Source: Business Times, 2 Aug 2010

JTC Corporation has started construction of the $30 million Components Manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Facilities (CMMF) at Seletar Aerospace Park.

The CMMF comprises seven standard factory buildings on a three-hectare site at the southern tip of the park and is intended for companies engaged in maintenance, repair and overhaul activities, and those that manufacture aerospace components.

Ms Tang Wai Yee, director for the Aerospace, Marine and CleanTech Cluster, JTC, said: “The CMMF and other developments in SAP will be home to companies that will contribute to the SAP’s annual value-add target of $3.3 billion by 2018.”

JTC is now evaluating the tender submissions for the building works of the CMMF and plans to award the tender by this month.

It recently awarded the piling works tender for the project to Leong Hin Piling for $1.8 million.

CMMF is located near the future facility of the power systems and aircraft engine giant Rolls-Royce. JTC said response from industry players has been very encouraging and targets to complete the CMMF by the middle of next year.

Source: Today, 14 Jul 2010

RENTS at industrial properties formerly owned by JTC Corp are likely to go up from June next year once a rental rise cap is lifted and a real estate investment trust (Reit) manager takes over.

The properties are held under the Mapletree Industrial Trust, which is headed for an initial public offering, possibly by the end of the year. Reits collect rent from tenants of the properties they own and pay most of it as dividends to unit holders.

Mapletree Investments, which bought the properties in 2008, had to face unhappy tenants struggling with soaring rents last year. Many had petitioned Mapletree for hefty rent cuts to cope with the tough market conditions then. Most of all, they were upset at having missed out on a 15 per cent rental rebate granted by JTC as part of the Government’s Resilience Package.

Many are small and medium-sized enterprises occupying the cheapest of the ex-JTC factories. And JTC rents are generally below market rates.

Property consultants had said that they cannot expect Mapletree to offer them the same low rates.

In any case, Mapletree had said that 1,448 of the industrial trust’s flatted and stack-up factories, as well as warehouses, would benefit from a 5 per cent rental cap – of JTC’s rent in July 2007 – when they renewed their leases before this month.

There is no cap for the remaining 108 – 7 per cent of the total – tenants in its business park buildings.

Mapletree Investments’ chief executive (Industrial) Phua Kok Kim said yesterday it has stuck to the rental cap. He said new tenants are signing leases at higher rates, which shows that the properties are ‘under-rented and there is potential for organic growth’.

But any rise is likely to be gradual, said Mapletree group chief financial officer Wong Mun Hoong.

Mr Phua added: ‘All our rents are subject to competitive market forces of supply and demand, so even when the rental cap of 5 per cent is lifted for non-business park space, the renewal rents will still be subject to market forces.’

Source: Straits Times, 1 Jul 2010

Phase 5 will be completed by 2013 and will bring the total R&D space there to more than 3.3 million sq ft

SINGAPORE’S biomedical sciences sector is booming. And to cater to the growing number of companies that need more space, the nation’s premier biomedical research hub, Biopolis, will be expanded again.

Industrial developer and landlord JTC said in May that it will spend another $140 million to provide 495,000 square feet of new space for companies engaged in cutting-edge work in creating new drugs and medical equipment.

This new phase – which will be the fifth for Biopolis and will be completed by 2013 – will bring the total research and development (R&D) space at Biopolis to more than 3.3 million square feet.

Phase five follows hot on the heels of the fourth phase, which was announced just in January this year.

Biopolis has been purpose-built for public and private biomedical research institutes and organisations and the expansion comes at a time when multi-national biomedical companies are expanding in Singapore.

‘The biomedical sector has been putting up a strong showing so far this year,’ says CIMB economist Song Seng Wun. ‘We have seen a lot of reports on capacity expansion and reports on new investments and it looks like the sector is now attracting quite a lot of interest.’

In May, Japan-based Fujitsu officially opened its first biomedical research facility in South-east Asia here in Singapore. The company plans to work with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) to provide cutting-edge methodology to drive research for the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases.

‘Fujitsu’s collaboration with A*Star represents our commitment to being part of an ecosystem that will enable Singapore to harness innovations in technology, with the aim of developing a world-class R&D hub,’ said Francis Goh, president of Fujitsu Asia, at the plant’s opening.

US-based Abbott also officially opened its Asia-Pacific Nutrition Research & Development Centre at the Biopolis in Singapore recently. The centre is Abbott’s largest nutrition R&D facility outside of the US and will create science-based nutritional products for infants, children and adults.

The biomedical sector has been a boost to the overall economy over the first five months of this year. For example, Singapore’s economy grew by close to 50 per cent year-on-year in April 2010 and 60 per cent year-on-year in May. Mr Song points out that the growth was largely led by the biomedical sector, which accounted for more than half of the growth in both months.

And for the whole of 2009, Singapore’s biomedical sciences manufacturing output rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to $20.7 billion, while total employment climbed 7.2 per cent to 13,174. Singapore aims for the sector to hit a manufacturing output of $25 billion by 2015.

Looking ahead, the sector is expected to continue expanding, and JTC will provide the real estate to support this growth, said Heah Soon Poh, director of JTC’s biomedical and chemicals cluster.

Spearheading sustainable design

Biopolis’s fifth phase will feature an energy efficient and sustainable design which will allow for more pre-clinical trials to be carried out.

In fact, the entire development aims to spearhead innovation in environment performance and sustainability and serve as a test-bed for promising environmental technologies.

Examples of Biopolis’ sustainable features include: a building-integrated photovoltaic or solar-powered system; ‘intelligent’ building automation systems to optimise energy usage; a district cooling system to provide centralised chilled water supply to optimise the use of space and minimise energy costs for air-conditioning; and solar-powered LED lights with ultra capacitor as energy storage device, which are now being used as a landscape feature.

But with the upcoming expansion of Biopolis, sustainability will be taken a step further as JTC focuses on energy-efficient lab designs. Design strategies JTC will be looking into include more accurate sizing of laboratory equipment to reduce energy wastage; tapping on higher efficiencies for mechanical and electrical equipment and solar control and glazing for laboratory spaces to reduce heat gain.

It is also looking at the optimal selection of lighting to reduce maintenance and running costs as well as designing for naturally ventilated spaces wherever possible to reduce the cooling needed for the building.

‘JTC recognises that energy efficiency is the leading driver for sustainable lab design as it represents the greatest possible operational savings,’ the agency says. ‘Sustainable energy efficient labs underscores JTC’s ongoing effort to provide innovative and sustainable real estate solutions.’

Working to build a biomedical hub

Besides Biopolis, JTC is preparing land for manufacturing activities in the biomedical sciences sector.

The agency said earlier this year that it will launch a medical technology (med-tech) cluster in Jurong.

The med-tech sub-sector is expected to drive growth within the larger biomedical sciences sector. The cluster involves the manufacture of equipment used in the industry, such as syringes and medical test-kits.

Singapore’s manufacturing output of med-tech products is expected to increase from $2.9 billion in 2008 to $5 billion by 2015, said JTC’s Mr Heah.

Med-tech employs about two-thirds of all workers in the biomedical science sector, as it is more labour intensive than pharmaceutical production.

The new med-tech cluster, at Jalan Tukang in Jurong, aims to bring major industry players together in a new facility that will cost $60 million to $80 million to build initially.

Firms can collaborate and cut costs through cooperation as they will be located ‘in the same space, creating synergies and reducing costs’, said Mr Heah.

JTC and other government agencies are also pushing Tuas Biomedical Park, which has already attracted a host of global biomedical players such as Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Wyeth, Genentech and GlaxoSmithKline.

The 183ha Tuas Biomedical Park I and 188ha Tuas Biomedical Park II are located at Tuas View at the western tip of Singapore and are five minutes from the Tuas Checkpoint to Malaysia and 20 minutes away from Jurong Port.

The park has all essential infrastructure, such as roads, power lines, telecommunication lines, sewer pipes and water and gas supplies. Third parties provide utilities such as steam, natural gas, chilled water and waste treatment services.

With the estate’s ‘plug-and-play’ design, pharmaceutical, biologics, medical device and other biomedical companies can set up manufacturing operations with minimal lead time. They can either move into fully serviced facilities or custom-build their own.

By staying within a cluster, these firms can enjoy economies of scale from sharing major infrastructure. It is also easier for JTC to look after their niche requirements, the agency says.

All these developments show the government’s ambitions for the biomedical sciences sector.

Several government agencies – including the Economic Development Board, A*Star and JTC – all share the job of turning Singapore’s aim of being a biomedical hub into reality. JTC, which is charged with supporting the unique real estate requirements of the biomedical sciences industry, will continue to come up with innovative solutions, it said.

Source: Business Times, 29 Jun 2010

JTC is working on innovative ways to create new waterfront resources

SINGAPORE wants to maintain its leadership position on the global marine and offshore landscape. And with this in mind, the city-state is meeting a key challenge – the scarcity of waterfront land – head on.

Industrial landlord JTC has been looking at innovative ways to create new waterfront resources. And through its efforts, the government agency plans to ensure the continued growth of the offshore and marine sector by bringing in new waterfront activities and allowing for expansion by existing players.

Singapore has been a big beneficiary of the strong worldwide high growth of the offshore and marine industry in recent years. An expert cluster of marine-related service companies – including those providing classification services, maritime law and insurance services and offshore support services – has developed here.

In 2008, Singapore’s marine and offshore industry output grew to $18.3 billion, which represents a compound annual growth rate of almost 30 per cent over the past five years. This makes the sector one of the fastest growing parts of Singapore’s economy in the past few years. The sector’s value-added in 2008 was $4.5 billion and the industry employed almost 70,000 workers that year.

Over the past few years, several world class global offshore and marine companies have either set up or expanded their operations in Singapore. They include Rolls-Royce from the UK, Halliburton from the US, Berg Propulsion from Sweden and Toll Offshore Petroleum Services from Australia.

Just a few months ago, Houston-based engineering Dril-Quip said it would develop a new $45.6 million facility at Tuas. this will handle all of the company’s manufacturing operations for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East.

To support these and other global companies in their Singapore ventures, Singapore plans to sharpen its competitive advantages to entrench itself as an offshore and marine hub of choice.

JTC chief executive Manohar Khiatani said during the ground-breaking ceremony for the Dril-Quip facility that given the importance of the offshore and marine sector, all relevant government agencies – the Economic Development Board, Spring, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research and JTC – have been working together to grow the industry in Singapore.

This includes continuing to attract expert players to set up here and channelling investments and resources to develop the entire value chain, which ranges from shipyards and component manufacturing to companies offering naval architecture and marine engineering services.

And in addition to all this, JTC is looking to address Singapore’s ever-present problem – a shortage of land.

‘For its part, JTC has been looking at innovative infrastructural solutions to overcome some key challenges faced by the industry,’ Mr Khiatani said. ‘One of these is to come up with innovative ways to overcome the scarcity of waterfront land in Singapore.’

The agency is creating resources such as a new offshore marine centre, multi-vessel berthing structures and an integrated shipyard. It is also finding new waterfront land for industrial use.

Offshore marine centre

JTC is developing an offshore marine centre at a 13-hectare site in Tuas View. The multi-user facility will provide common waterfront and berthing facilities for offshore and marine companies involved in the manufacturing and fabrication of heavy equipment, components or structures. This will come in handy, as demand for such facilities is growing, market watchers say.

Multi-vessels berthing structures

JTC is also looking at redesigning Singapore’s jetties to allow more vessels to berth along the same waterfront length.

The current system of using tugs for side-berthing will be replaced by a trolley and winch system to berth ships. This means that there will not be a need to provide navigational space for tug-boats, which JTC says can increase berth space along a waterfront by between 25 and 50 per cent.

‘The project will increase our potential to attract key investors from the oil and petrochemical industries who require waterfront infrastructure to support their business operations, thus strengthening Singapore’s position as a leading oil trading hub,’ JTC said.

Integrated yard facility

Singapore’s marine and offshore industry took a major step forward with the announcement in late 2009 that Sembcorp Marine will build an integrated yard at Tuas – the country’s first new-built yard in a generation.

The first phase of the 206 ha state-of-the-art yard is expected to cost about $750 million and to be completed by 2013.

The yard will boast a revolutionary design as well as the latest production technology and processes. As a result, land use will be optimised and supply-chain efficiency will be improved – achieving a jump in productivity, resource optimisation and operational synergy.

‘This first integrated yard is another example of how Singapore plans to stay at the forefront of the marine and offshore industry,’ said EDB chairman Leo Yip. ‘It will sharpen our competitive edge and reinforce our global leadership position in this industry.’

The increased flexibility that will come from cross-deploying workers and allowing them to multi-task will also improve and upgrade the quality of the work force here, JTC and EDB said.

Development of the 73.3 ha first phase of the yard will start next month and is expected to take four years. The remainder of the site will be developed in two more phases over 12 years.

When completed, the new yard will increase total dock capacity 62 per cent to 3.08 million deadweight tonnes (dwt), from 1.90 million dwt now, and will feature optimised docking and berthing facilities. An improved dock and quay ratio will ensure effective utilisation and faster turnaround for repairs and upgrading of ships, rigs and other floating structures.

The first phase will more than triple the land area from the current 20 ha, almost quadruple drydock capacity to 1.55 million dwt from the current 400,000 dwt and boost quay length almost three-and-a-half times from 1,071 to 3,408 metres.

Integrated facilities and newer technology will make the yard more efficient and productive, which will boost capacity and profitability, according to Sembcorp Marine president and chief executive Wong Weng Sun.

Mr Wong also expects productivity at the new yard to increase at least 15-20 per cent.

Utilising currently non-usable waterfront land

JTC has also earmarked a 40 ha site with around a kilometre of water frontage at Tuas West for future stock. Although the water depth here is only one to 3 metres – making it unsuitable for industrial activity – JTC is looking at the feasibility of improving this.

Looking ahead, land supply will continue to be a challenge to Singapore, JTC says.

And while land scarcity here is not new, the nature of the challenges faced by the agency has changed, which means it will work to come up with new solutions for the growing marine and offshore sector.

Source: Business Times, 22 Jun 2010

Singapore’s first business park catering to green companies will serve as a large-scale ‘living laboratory’ for testing and demonstrating clean technology

JTC is changing the approach to urban development and master planning with its CleanTech Park – Singapore’s first business park catering to green companies.

The 50-ha eco-business park at Nanyang Avenue is pitched as the location of choice for forward-looking companies that have embraced environmental sustainability. Joint developers JTC and the Economic Development Board hope the project will push the boundaries of sustainability by serving as a large-scale ‘living laboratory’ for testing and demonstrating clean technology.

When completed in 2030, the park will create 20,000 ‘green-collar’ jobs. It will be built in three phases at an infrastructure cost of $52 million, excluding buildings.

CleanTech Park will be an icon for the development and application of clean technologies, and JTC will push the envelope in a ‘practical and cost-effective way’, says the industrial landlord’s chief executive Manohar Khiatani.

‘As an infrastructural solutions provider, JTC has always placed priority on developing innovative and sustainable real estate solutions to meet the needs of our customers operating in resource-challenged Singapore,’ he says.

Work on the first phase of the project begins next month, starting with the development of infrastructure within CleanTech Park. When completed, phase one will provide about 17 ha of business park land.

The blueprint for the first cutting-edge building in the park was recently unveiled by JTC. The $90 million building – CleanTech One – will offer about 404,000 sq ft of office space that can house up to 50 green businesses when it is completed by December next year.

The building will incorporate state-of-the-art green features such as solar energy systems, rainwater harvesting, sky gardens and sustainable construction.

Urban modelling

JTC’s master plan for CleanTech Park uses information that has been collected about the site and takes into account such factors as solar exposure, rainfall, prevailing wind, topography and vegetation density.

The agency used a modelling tool from a consultancy – Camp, Dresser and McKee or CDM – to help design the urban fabric, so the project can make the most of the natural elements.

CleanTech Park will go up on a large contiguous greenfield site with natural undulating terrain and mature greenery with natural streams running through it.

In drawing up the masterplan using urban modelling, strong emphasis was placed on finding a long-term sustainable balance between the development’s commercial needs and the site’s natural bio-diversity. For example, in the interest of landscape conservation, a minimal ‘land-cut’ principle was adopted for both infrastructure planning and at individual land parcel and building level.

One of the innovative ideas that will be tested in CleanTech Park is JTC’s sky trellis concept. Trellises will be constructed between adjacent buildings and covered with plants to provide shade and enhance ‘walkability’ in the area.

Eco-concrete – instead of natural aggregates and sand – will be used for non-structural elements such as roads, pavements and drains.

CleanTech Park will also be the first large scale project to light roads with LED street lamps. By replacing the usual street lighting, light pollution can be minimised and energy consumption can be reduced as much as 40 per cent, JTC says.

Provisions to link buildings with an integrated ‘smart dashboard’ system will also be in place, so energy and water use can be compared at district-level. This will provide feedback to individual building owners and their tenants so they can improve if needed.

Another innovative solution by JTC is decentralised district cooling. This means excess air-conditioning capacity from a group of buildings may be able to power the air-conditioning for another building. In line with this, piping that can link chilled water from one building to another will be constructed as part of the infrastructure to support such a system.

CleanTech One, the the first building in CleanTech Park, will also have its own green features.

Innovative technological applications at CleanTech One will include an integrated hydrogen fuel cell plant using bio-fuels to produce hydrogen on-site to drive fuel cells, which in turn produce renewable energy.

A bio-digester will also be installed. With the help of micro-organisms, food waste will quickly decomposed in the bio-digester – removing odour and leaving water and carbon dioxide as end-products.

Energy from the sun will be harnessed directly to power the air-conditioner chillers. This method is more efficient than converting solar energy to electricity before use, JTC says. Solar panels will also be used.

Demand for green space

Real estate space with a ‘green’ proposition is starting to attract more interest among prospective tenants – which is good news for CleanTech Park and its buildings.

‘Companies are increasingly interested in commercial and research space that is eco-friendly,’ says EDB managing director Beh Swan Gin. ‘CleanTech Park will offer these progressive investors an attractive option and foster the clustering of like-minded companies in one location.’

JTC’s Mr Khiatani says similarly that environmental sustainability will be a ‘natural direction’ for businesses to take in the future. He adds: ‘CleanTech Park will be emblematic of how businesses can achieve both economic vibrancy and environmental sustainability, functioning in harmony with nature.’

Independent data supports these claims. A global survey on corporate real estate and sustainability by CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle, conducted late last year, showed corporate real estate executives are willing to invest in the sustainability of the space they own, despite economic pressures.

The survey found 89 per cent of these executives worldwide consider sustainability criteria in their location decisions. Green building certification is always considered by 41 per cent and energy labels by 46 per cent in administering their portfolios.

More stakeholders are also beginning to take a more holistic approach to doing business, which means they factor in the social and environmental effects of their business decisions.

In fact, CleanTech Park has already attracted some interest from tenants. Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has signed on to become the first anchor tenant. The university will help seed research and development activity at the park.

NTU has said that having CleanTech Park next to the university is significant, as it will help academics work seamlessly with key industry partners in the park and allow NTU students to gain invaluable opportunities for attachment and hands-on experience in state-of-the-art green technologies.

EDB likewise thinks CleanTech Park’s tenants will benefit from the proximity to NTU, which could promote cross-fertilisation of knowledge and ideas to facilitate the development and demonstration of systems-level cleantech solutions.

The Singapore government is committed to growing the cleantech industry as a key cluster. The sector is expected to contribute some $3.4 billion to Singapore’s GDP and employ 18,000 people by 2015.

CleanTech Park, in particular, is poised to boost Singapore’s leadership position as an innovative CleanTech hub, EDB and JTC have said.

Source: Business Times, 15 Jun 2010

Environment, water, energy, logistics and feedstock options are areas looked at

(SINGAPORE) Many new projects – ranging from a second road link with the mainland to facilitate the daily commute of its fast-growing workforce, to an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) terminal to bring in alternative feedstocks – are being studied under the just-announced ‘Jurong Island version 2.0′ initiative to further boost the Singapore petrochemical industry’s competitiveness in the coming 10 years.

Under the move ‘to improve energy efficiency and overcome resource limitations’ on the petrochemicals island, the JTC Corporation/Economic Development Board-led initiative will look at five main areas of energy, logistics and transportation, feedstock options, environment and water, BT has learnt.

‘There will be a lot of work ahead . . . consultancy studies will be called to give their recommendations on the various focus areas,’ a JTC spokeswoman told BT, adding that more details of the plan will emerge thereafter.

The latest initiative to further gear up Jurong Island’s competitiveness – currently home to 95 global petrochemical companies with over $31 billion of investments – was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the opening of Shell’s US$3 billion petrochemical complex earlier this month.

Elaborating on the move, the JTC spokeswoman said that the multi-agency ’2.0 initiative’ will involve agencies including the Energy Market Authority, Land Transport Authority, Maritime Port Authority, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and the Public Utilities Board, as well as the Jurong Island companies themselves.

JTC director Heah Soon Poh last week told BT that the agencies will discuss with industry players regarding both their needs as well as their participation in the initiative to upgrade the island. ‘The whole idea is to strengthen Jurong Island’s two pillars of its sustainability and its competitiveness,’ he said.

Some 38,000 workers (8,000 full-time) currently enter Jurong Island daily, and with their numbers expected to swell in the coming years as more petrochemical investors set up there, new enhanced public transport systems, like a second road link, are being planned to facilitate their commute to, and also within, the island, JTC said.

‘We are also building a barging terminal to provide a more efficient and safer means of transporting hazardous products in and out of the island,’ the JTC spokeswoman added.

On energy, PM Lee earlier indicated that the Jurong Island ’2.0 initiative’ will include schemes to use waste heat to power production processes and to convert waste carbon dioxide into useful products, thus creating more value and reducing the carbon footprint.

Mr Heah added that the ’2.0 initiative’ will similarly also look at how to tap or harness unused ‘cold’ energy from the liquefied natural gas terminal currently being built on the island.

It will also consider new water technologies, for example, using sea water desalination and recycling of waste water to ensure ample water supplies, the spokeswoman said.

The initiative will also explore alternative feedstocks and resources for petrochemical investors including LPG, she added. BT earlier reported that Shell and the EDB are looking at the possibility of building a terminal here to import LPG from Qatar to supplement the naphtha currently used by the petrochemical crackers.

Source: Business Times, 24 May 2010

Q1 net allocation turns positive after 6 negative quarters

JTC Corp said yesterday 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 Q4 2009, when it fell 1,300 sq m – the government agency said in its quarterly facilities report.

JTC previously said in its Q4 2009 report that net allocation had turned positive during that quarter, but revised numbers released yesterday show that net allocation was still negative in the fourth quarter of last year. Net allocation only turned positive in Q1 2010, JTC said.

The turnaround was supported by the standard factory and business park segments which recovered to register positive net allocations of 6,300 sq m and 100 sq m respectively.

Stronger demand also boosted the occupancy rate for RBF, which rose 0.3 percentage point to 97.4 per cent in Q1.

Year on year, net allocation of RBF turned around the negative 8,900 sq m in Q1 last year. But occupancy rate in Q1 this year was still lower than the 97.7 per cent recorded in Q1 last year.

JTC said that gross allocation jumped in the first three months of this year as the manufacturing sector took up more space. Just over half of the gross allocation of RBF space (51 per cent) went to the manufacturing sector, supported by higher take-up from the precision engineering segment. Analysts have said that industrial rents showed signs of recovery in the first three months of this year.

‘With the economy on the growth path, the industrial rental market is expected to bottom in 2010,’ said Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ’s head of research for Southeast Asia. But recovery will be slow because new supply is set to come on stream, she said.

According to DTZ Research, new supply of 9.3 million and 8.3 million sq ft is expected in 2010 and 2011 respectively – slightly below the historical 10-year average new supply of 10 million sq ft.

JTC also said in its report that net allocation of its prepared industrial land (PIL) stayed positive in Q1 2010. Net allocation of PIL was 23.2 hectares – down from an exceptionally strong 105 ha achieved in the previous quarter.

Year on year, net allocation rose 65 per cent from 14 ha in Q1 last year.

Source: Business Times, 13 May 2010

To be completed in 2013, expansion will add 46,000 sq m to total 310,000 sq m

BIOMEDICAL research and development hub The Biopolis will undergo a $140 million expansion which will boost its total R&D space to some 310,000 square metres – a move aimed at meeting the increased demand for biomedical R&D space.

According to developer JTC Corporation, the expansion plans will add about 46,000 sq m to The Biopolis and is slated for completion in 2013.

The expanded Biopolis will also incorporate energy-efficient laboratory designs, which will translate to reduced energy consumption as well as higher savings for tenants where operational costs are concerned. Some of the measures that JTC will implement include more accurate sizing of laboratory equipment to reduce energy wastage, solar control and glazing for laboratory spaces to reduce heat gain, better lighting selection to reduce maintenance and running costs as well as the incorporation of natural ventilated spaces to reduce the building’s cooling load.

‘In the upcoming expansion of The Biopolis, sustainability will be taken a step further with . . . energy-efficient lab design. Some of the sustainable lab design strategies . . . will be more practical and cost- effective in nature,’ JTC said. The Biopolis has been purpose-built for public and private biomedical research institutes and organisations.

In 2009, Singapore’s biomedical sciences manufacturing output rose 2.5 per cent year-on-year to $20.7 billion, while total employment climbed 7.2 per cent to 13,174. Singapore aims for the sector to hit a manufacturing output of $25 billion by 2015.

Meanwhile, total business spending stood at $700 million last year while fixed asset investments (FAI) were $1.2 billion.

Located at one-north, The Biopolis is currently in Phase 3 of its development. By end-2010, Phase 3 will add 41,500 sq m of space to the biomedical hub for R&D laboratories and supporting offices.

Phase 1 of The Biopolis (a 185,000 sq m seven- building development) is fully occupied, as is Phase 2, which comprises a cluster of two buildings spanning 37,000 sq m.

Source: Business Times, 6 May 2010