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

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’s eco-friendly drainage system reduces the amount of pollutants in the water, improving the quality in reservoirs downstream

SUSTAINABLE development has become a growing imperative and across the world, governments and corporations are investing more than ever in new technologies to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

Some agencies are leaving no stone unturned in their search for the next green application. In fact, they are making use of stones – gravel and sand to be exact – in drainage systems to produce cleaner water.

Gravel filtration system

Industrial landlord JTC Corporation will be testing out a gravel filtration system at one of its upcoming estates, the Business Aviation Complex in Seletar Aerospace Park. The project is the result of a study which started late last year, looking at how rainwater can be filtered through layers of gravel, rough sand and granite debris before it runs into the public drains.

Concrete drains in most industrial estates today channel unfiltered storm water directly into waterways and reservoirs. With the new gravel filtration system in place, large volumes of storm water can be cleansed before entering public drains. This helps reduce the amount of pollutants in the water, improving the quality in reservoirs downstream.

‘This is our effort to support the overall sustainable development of Singapore, and do our part to make sure the water run-off from our industrial estates is made cleaner, and help reduce pollutants or load to the waterways and reservoir systems,’ said JTC director of engineering planning Koh Chwee.

The new drainage system can also look better than traditional concrete drains. As the Seletar Aerospace Park is nestled in greenery and the old-world charm of Seletar, the drainage system will be designed to blend in with the environment. The gravel surfaces can be covered with soil and planted with trees, adding colour to the estate.

Furthermore, it can make good business sense to explore storm water pollution control measures – investors and industrialists have become increasingly conscious of environment and corporate social responsibility issues.

The Business Aviation Complex will sit on a 7,000-square-metre compound which channels rainwater through the gravel filtration system. JTC has appointed a consultant to design the system and expects to complete it in 2011. The agency is the overall planner for the Seletar Aerospace Park – an aviation hub for maintenance, repair and overhaul, design and training services.

JTC will monitor the new drainage system for its cost and effectiveness in improving water quality. If it proves to be successful, JTC may introduce it to other industrial estates in Singapore.

The concept behind gravel filtration systems is not new and countries such as Germany, Australia and New Zealand have such features in place. JTC studied various systems and the challenge for it was to design one that would suit Singapore’s geography and apply it in an industrial area.

For instance, JTC had to come up with a gravel filtration system that would accommodate heavy rains in Singapore. During the research phase, the agency found that heavy rainfall could exceed the drainage system’s load, and it had to make modifications to prevent overflows.

In public housing estates, the national water agency PUB has introduced another type of drainage system known as bio-retention swales. Drains along Sengkang West Way for instance, have troughs of shrubbery which filter rainwater through soil layers.

Storm water management

Besides Seletar Aerospace Park, JTC is also looking to introduce a storm water management system at the new CleanTech Park at Jalan Bahar, a centre for the development and production of clean technology products.

JTC has started drawing up the master plan for the area and considered implementing a wide range of eco-friendly practices. The CleanTech Park will have a ‘central green core’ which captures surface run-off, and then uses retention, detention and cleansing techniques to make the water suitable for non-potable use.

JTC displayed its environmentally-sustainable drainage systems at the Singapore International Water Week this year. Local and international visitors from both the academia and corporate world were supportive of its initiatives, it said.

The new drainage systems are part of JTC’s initiatives in bringing innovative and sustainable real estate solutions to its industrial parks. The agency is no stranger to the sustainable development movement, being the key manager of supply and demand for scarce industrial land in Singapore. It has been spearheading Singapore’s industrial growth since 1968.

Source: Business Times, 15 Sep 2009

Negative 32.2 ha compares with net allocation of plus 14ha in Q1

Businesses welcome more time to chart their plans in face of slump

COMPANIES operating at Seletar Camp, which is set to be transformed into an aerospace hub, are to have their leases extended when they expire in December.

The one-year renewal – with an option to extend for an additional year – will be offered to more than 20 mainly aerospace businesses operating in the vicinity of Seletar Airport.

JTC Corporation, which is spearheading the development of the aerospace hub, said the economic downturn had prompted it to work with the current lessor Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to extend the leases.

A JTC spokesman said: ‘We believe that this extension can give the companies more time to chart their business plans.’

The global downturn has meant many companies are reluctant to confirm whether or not they want to invest in the development of Seletar Aerospace Park.

Managing director of Fokker Services Asia Raj Ramanujam said: ‘Our current facility at Seletar meets our needs reasonably well, so we are quite happy with the extension because it gives us more breathing space to work out what we want to do next.’

Work has started to transform Seletar Airport and its surroundings into a 300ha aerospace hub.
The project, which will be fully completed by 2018, includes lengthening the existing runway, expanding the airport and building a new air traffic control tower.

But the recession has already put the brakes on Phase I of the development, and delayed the construction of new facilities by engine-makers Rolls Royce and Pratt and Whitney.

Key infrastructure construction, however, has already begun.Roads are being upgraded and work has also started on a new substation that will supply power to the entire aerospace park and airport.

JTC’s spokesman said: ‘Despite the challenging times, JTC is forging ahead with the exciting developments at Seletar and working with the companies to ride over this economic situation.’
Mr Aloysius Tay, chief executive of the Association of Aerospace Industries Singapore, said the decision to extend the leases was wise.

Given business uncertainty, it was to be expected that those companies already operating at Seletar, as well as those keen to move in, would be unwilling to commit resources at this time, he said.

He added: ‘The initial plan was for the construction of the new facilities and development of infrastructure works to take place concurrently.

‘The good thing is that the roads and other works are coming along nicely, so that when companies are ready to move in, everything will be in order.’

Like Fokker, the other tenants at Seletar said they had not finalised their long- term plans.
Mr Prithpal Singh, chief executive of Executive Jets Asia, said: ‘In the end, it all depends on costs and we will have to do our sums before we decide on what next. If not Seletar, the alternatives for us are either Senai or Subang in Malaysia.’

Source: Straits Times, 19 May 2009

(SINGAPORE) For the third straight quarter, net take-up of ready-built factory space in Q1 2009 fell into negative territory for industrial landlord JTC Corporation.

MARKET rents for HDB’s commercial and industrial tenants have fallen 5 per cent since January, Senior Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu said yesterday.

The drop is in line with market conditions and is part of HDB’s regular review of market rents, she told Parliament.

Ms Fu highlighted the change to Madam Cynthia Phua (Aljunied GRC) who had asked if rental rates were being adjusted to market conditions.

Ms Fu also said that tenants, on renewing their leases, would have their rents adjusted to the market price, to make it fairer for all.

The HDB leases shops that are part of housing estates, along with office and factory space in industrial estates, as well as industrial land.

However, it will not freeze rents across the board because ‘a freeze on rent increases is not equitable as it will result in different rental subsidies for different tenants’, said Ms Fu.

‘It is also not advisable for HDB rents to be disconnected from market realities. A better approach to help businesses during the economic downturn is to provide rental rebates.’

She gave this response to Ms Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) who had asked whether the HDB and industrial landlord JTC Corp would freeze all rents.

Ms Lee also asked if tenants whose rents were raised recently could have them lowered to the previous level.

Ms Fu reiterated that rents have to be pegged to market rates to ‘ensure equity between two tenants’.

To help tenants, HDB and JTC are giving a 15 per cent rent rebate for commercial and industrial space for this year, as announced in the Budget, said Ms Fu.

For the small group of tenants who face substantial rent hikes despite these measures, HDB will stagger the increase over the tenancy term, she said.

Tenants can opt to renew their typical three-year leases for one or two years if they foresee rents falling.

Source: Straits Times, 14 April 2009

Modest cuts possible for ex-JTC tenants if economy worsens

MAPLETREE Investments said yesterday it might consider modest rental cuts for aggrieved industrial tenants at its ex-JTC properties – if economic conditions deteriorate further.

Many tenants have petitioned Mapletree, a Temasek Holdings unit, for hefty rent cuts to help them cope with tough market conditions.

They are also upset to have missed out on a 15per cent rental rebate granted by JTC Corp as part of the Government’s Resilience Package.

This is because the rebate was granted after JTC sold $1.7billion worth of its flatted factories, stack-up buildings and ready-built assets to Mapletree last July.

These properties are now held by Mapletree Industrial Trust (MIT), a private Reit that is 30.5per cent owned by Mapletree and the rest held by other investors such as Arcapita.

One MIT tenant who has rented his ex-JTC factory space in Lorong Bakar Batu for 22 years, Mr Foong Khai Leong, told The Straits Times: ‘The rents keep going up, business is going down…and now the Government is giving a rental rebate to tenants of JTC…I not only cannot enjoy the rebate, I may now have to cough up more when I renew my lease.

‘If we don’t fight for lower rents, we will have little choice but to fold up the business. Who’s going to pity us?’ said the managing director of May Tat Plastics.

MIT said it will not be cutting rents for now, even as the downturn hits small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ‘We are also similarly impacted,’ said Mapletree Investments chief executive Hiew Yoon Khong. He said a 15per cent rental cut was definitely out as it could trigger a loan default for MIT. ‘In this environment, we can’t take that kind of risk.’

However, a smaller rent cut could happen. ‘If the environment continues to deteriorate, we will consider it,’ said Mr Hiew.

Some observers are sympathetic to the tenants’ plight. ‘It’s quite unfortunate. The timing is bad as just several months ago, they were JTC tenants,’ said Colliers International director of industrial sales Tan Boon Leong.

Many of MIT’s tenants will likely be affected as they are SMEs occupying the cheapest of the ex-JTC factories. JTC rents are generally below market rates, said Mr Tan.

But, they need to change their mindsets. ‘They cannot expect the landlord to give them the full rebate because this landlord also has to account to shareholders,’ said Mr Tan.

MIT’s financing burden has risen as it requires an additional capital top-up of $140million. Its interest costs have almost doubled; it faces stricter loan convenants and it has had to defer cash distributions.

Mapletree Investments’ CEO (Industrial) Phua Kok Kim said: ‘If we have difficulty filling the space at the new rents, then naturally rents will come down.’ The new rents are the rates MIT is charging for 70 new non-business park space tenants so far and they are all above the renewed rates of ex-JTC tenants.

Mapletree said the 1,448 tenants of MIT’s flatted and stack-up factories, as well as warehouses, all benefit from a 5per cent rental cap – of JTC’s rent on July 2007 – when they renew their leases before July next year.

There is no cap for the remaining 108 – or 7per cent of – tenants in its business park buildings. Mapletree said it is doing what it can on a case-by-case basis. It has arranged instalment plans for 18 firms to help them settle arrears, for instance.

Source: Straits Times, 14 Mar 2009

It will have centres for interactive digital media, computer-generated imagery, games, animation and more

IMAGINE flashing billboards, colourful media screens, film shootings on the streets and red carpet activities galore. This is not downtown Manhattan nor Tokyo. Come 2020, Singapore’s very own Mediapolis may be home to a vibrant suite of film, television and animation clusters.

Of course, Mediapolis will not replicate the street scenes of these cities entirely. Internationally renowned architect Bernard Tschumi was clear that he wanted to preserve Singapore’s tropical uniqueness even as he brought in elements from these cities.

And distinct the Mediapolis will be. Mr Tschumi’s works are commonly associated with a post-modern form of architecture called deconstructivism, where buildings take on non-rectilinear shapes or non-uniform surfaces to stimulate a sense of controlled chaos.

He has also introduced this concept to the Mediapolis masterplan – sides of buildings facing the central street will have glass facades and billboards, while the other sides will have to be constructed with other types of material such as steel or wood to create a contrast.

For a project that involved so much creative effort, what exactly is the Mediapolis?

What the Mediapolis is
Located in one-north, the 19-hectare Mediapolis was launched in December last year. It is set to become a self-contained media ecosystem comprising soundstages with green screen capabilities, digital production and broadcast facilities and media schools.

There will also be centres for activities in interactive digital media and research and development; computer-generated imagery and visual effects; games and animation; and intellectual property creation and digital rights management.

Mediapolis was created in response to Singapore’s expanding media sector. In 2005, it reported an annual turnover of $18.2 billion, contributing $4.9 billion value added to the country’s GDP. It also employed close to 55,000 people.

Media funding has also grown with about $1 billion anchored here. Award-winning films, games and animation and major international co-productions such as the filming and production of Mark Burnett’s Contender Asia and The Contender 4 also took place in Singapore.

Global media giants such as Lucasfilm, Linden Lab, EA, Ubisoft and Rainbow SpA have also set foot here. And more media activities such as the upcoming shoot of Jan de Bont’s Point Break 2 will take place this year.

The government therefore came up with Mediapolis to position Singapore as a media hub. Four agencies – JTC Corporation, the Media Development Authority (MDA), the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) – were involved.

‘JTC is pleased to be part of this multi-government agency effort that propels Singapore ahead as a trusted global media capital,’ said Philip Su, JTC’s assistant chief executive. ‘We are glad to contribute to building the critical pieces, which will complement each other in the growth of a vibrant media ecosystem.’

JTC is also the master developer of one-north. The Mediapolis will be the third strategic industry cluster in one-north, after Biopolis (biomedical sciences) and Fusionopolis (infocomm, media, engineering and physical sciences).

‘Mediapolis will also be able to leverage on the creative community in the neighbouring Wessex Estate, and tap on the synergies and world-class expertise within one-north,’ said Mr Su.
MDA chief executive Christopher Chia also expressed great hopes for the Mediapolis. It is ‘an essential piece of a comprehensive media ecosystem that we are building’, he said. ‘Over the years, Singapore’s media industry has made great strides, particularly in media financing and international co-productions. To elevate ourselves to the next level, we are finding ways to add scale and synergy to what we already have.’

The government also consulted an International Advisory Committee in the conceptualisation of Mediapolis. The panel comprised media industry insiders such as Dune Entertainment chairman and chief executive Greg Coote, Warner Brothers Pictures president of physical productions Steve Papazian, and film maker and director Shekhar Kapur.

Mediapolis will be developed in two phases. For phase one, JTC has reserved a 1.2-hectare plot of land for works to begin in the first quarter of this year. Local media production company Infinite Frameworks (IFW) will invest in and develop a soundstage complex here.

Cutting edge
IFW is a producer of cutting-edge computer graphics and visual effects for television and feature films. The complex is expected to cost $80 million to $120 million and could house three soundstages when completed in two years.

‘The soundstage at Mediapolis presents a unique opening for Infinite to further augment our distinctive range of specialist services for the film and television industries,’ said IFW managing director Mike Wiluan.

The second part of phase one’s development would start after Ayer Rajah Camp relocates in 2011 and could be completed in 2020 at the latest. No date has been set for works on phase two to begin.

The entire Mediapolis could take as long as 20 to 30 years to complete. According to Chan Yeng Kit, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, the speed of development will depend on demand from the media industry.

Source: Business Times, 10 Mar 2009

Fusionopolis’ towers house scientists and engineers working on new medical solutions and technical innovations.