Industrial land is primarily safeguarded for industrial activities to support the manufacturing sector in Singapore. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) works with economic agencies to ensure that land use zoning and guidelines safeguard industrial land predominantly for industrial activities. Over the years, the government has also progressively revised industrial land policies to cater to the changing industry needs.
Nonetheless, the economic landscape continues to evolve. Manufacturing companies are increasingly shifting their business models from production-led to service-driven activities, or agglomerating their functions across value chains. Some are growing their research and development efforts, prototyping, sales/after-sales and other ‘services’ type activities, and do so alongside their core manufacturing activities so that all functions across their product development cycle are well-integrated.
At the same time, companies are increasingly embracing open innovation by collaborating with other companies and academia to develop and apply new technologies. Vibrant live-work-play-learn environments play a growing role in the attraction and retention of talent, and contribute to the success of open innovations.
The recently-concluded Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) deliberations recognised the above trends, and the need for greater flexibility to accommodate the growing diverse space needs of the innovation economy. In addition to the Woodlands pilot development announced on 3 March 2017, the government will be piloting the Enterprise District concept at Punggol.
The Enterprise District approach seeks to support an evolving economic and manufacturing landscape.
It is envisaged as a district ring-fenced for a specific mix of industrial activities supported by an ecosystem of other uses such as commercial, institutional or residential. This will take into account economic aims, branding, and positioning of the area.
Instead of the current zoning approach which stipulates land use and density for individual sites, the Enterprise District conscribes a district-level Gross Floor Area (GFA) quantum control for each land use. Each land parcel will be allocated its own combination of different uses by a master developer, as long as the total GFA for each use does not exceed the quantum at the district level. With this, companies will have access to shared facilities and collaborative spaces.
Each Enterprise District will be helmed by a single developer – also known as the Master Developer – that will have more flexibility to curate the tenant mix to achieve a more complete and integrated ecosystem to meet the demand of the future economy. The Master Developer will also build an identity and branding for the district and create an attractive live-work-play-learn environment through good urban design and programming.
Similar to the Woodlands pilot development to allow more flexible use of industrial space, the Master Developer in the Enterprise District will also allow a wider range of uses than current industrial land guidelines.
Punggol has been identified as a pilot Enterprise District focusing on the cyber-security and digital industries, with JTC as the Master Developer. Punggol Growth Cluster is envisioned as an integrated precinct that fosters a vibrant community of students, researchers, and knowledge workers that collaborate in a smart and sustainable precinct.
The government will closely monitor the market receptiveness and feedback for the Enterprise District and study the applicability of various features to other locations. Meanwhile, it will continue to review land use policies for industrial zones to ensure they remain relevant, taking into consideration trends in the manufacturing sector, other emerging sectors, as well as the needs of industrialists.