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Designed around people: Continental Opens its Third Research and Development Building in Singapore

• New office building is designed around people to enhance creativity and innovation
• One of the three largest Continental R&D centers in Asia, and one of the largest private R&D facilities in Singapore, expands its capacity
• More than 500 new employees planned

Singapore, 6 June 2018. The technology company and automotive supplier Continental has opened its third Research & Development (R&D) building in Singapore. The new building aims to meet the demand of growing engineering capacities driven by the worldwide business expansion, particularly in Asia. It is one of the three largest Continental R&D centers in Asia, and among the largest private R&D facilities in Singapore. The new seven-story building has a floor space of approximately 11,000 square meters. It will accommodate employees from Continental’s Interior and Powertrain division. With this addition, the location will hire more than 500 employees in the next few years.

Continental opens a new seven-story building in Singapore with a floor space of approximately 11,000 square meters.

“Our presence in Asia has grown significantly. In 2017 we made 22 percent of our total sales in the region. The opening of our third R&D building in Singapore attests to our confidence in, and commitment to, Singapore as a strategic location to expand our research and development centers in Asia. With the new building designed to foster innovation, inclusiveness, we are future ready. We will be hiring more engineers with the relevant competencies and knowledge to ride the growth and demand for new technologies in the industry.” said Mr Helmut Matschi, member of the Continental Executive Board and head of the Interior division.

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“Continental’s latest R&D expansion in Singapore will introduce new focus areas such as intelligent mobility and mobility services, given the burgeoning interest in urban mobility. We look forward to more like-minded partners leveraging Singapore’s strong research capabilities to develop, test and commercialize mobility solutions to serve the region’s increasing mobility needs,” said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board.

“In 2012, we had 650 employees, and to date we have more than 1,300, doubling the figure in just over a span of six years. Our target is to grow to more than 2,000 employees within the next five years. The rapid development within the automotive industry necessitates having sufficient talent.” said Mr Lo Kien Foh, Managing Director of Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd.

Different colors at each floor creates stimulating work environment

The center will house its diverse talent pool of more than 20 nationalities. The third building is designed around people – to be relevant to the way they work. Innovative, inclusive, future-ready features include hydraulically adjustable workstations, sound-proofed booths for teleconferencing, and small discussion pods to name a few. The interior of the building also boasts vibrant colors with natural lighting and wide open spaces to create a stimulating work environment.

Sebastian Fillenberg

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Continental Automotive

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Sim Toon Cheng

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Welcome to Singapore Science Park. Let’s create greatness together.

Singapore Science Park (SSP) is a technology and development centre located in the liveliest tech hub in Singapore. As one of the most prestigious Research & Development (R&D) addresses in Southeast Asia, SSP is home to over 350 laboratories, MNCs, as well as global leading tech companies. We always strive to expand our community, both through infrastructure development and through the arrival of new community members, who bring with them new ideas and energy into this place we call home.

Located within the Greater one-north, SSP is also part of the vibrant community together with notable neighbours:

• National University of Singapore (NUS)
• National University Hospital (NUH)
• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
• CREATE Campus 
• one-north development cluster

A mere 15-minute drive from Singapore’s CBD, the park is immersed in lush greenery that can take one’s mind off the endless bustle of city life. Here, you will find the ideal business space that blends nature with urbanity. It is our vision to establish the setting for talents to come together and form partnerships.

Conceptualised in the 1970s, Singapore Science Park was envisioned as the forefront of the Research & Development scene in Singapore. 

As the growing nation recognised her need to move towards higher value-added industries, in particular scientific R&D, the founding fathers of SSP became invested in the idea of bringing R&D work beyond the scope of research institutions. The park is built on an idea where science, innovation, and technology would be seamlessly integrated together. The park drew its inspiration from similar parks in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and England, and modeled after R&D complexes at Standford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In September 1979, the park officially became part of the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) master plan for the 1980s and the location of the park near the University of Singapore (now NUS) at Kent Ridge was determined to facilitate interaction between industry and academia. 

Developed in the 1980s, Singapore Science Park aimed to provide R&D organisations and companies with an environment conducive for their work.

In 1981, the plan to develop SSP was put into motion with the construction along Ayer Rajah Road with a land area of 30-hectare.

Det Norske Veritas (DNV) became the first tenant in 1982, and other firms began moving in from the following year, upon the completion of the ‘Faraday’ and ‘Flemming’ starter blocks (named after prominent scientists).

SSP was officially opened on 17 January 1984 by the then-Law Minister, E. W. Barker, with the attendance of Crown Prince Harald of Norway.

The 1990s witnessed the completion of SSP1 as well as the planning for SSP2, turning SSP into the leading facility for R&D in the region.

In April 1990, a subsidiary of the JTC, Technology Park Pte Ltd (now CapitaLand) took over the management of SSP.

To match the rise in demand for R&D spaces in Singapore, the master plan for SSP2 was released in 1992. In October 1993, development commenced on the 20-hectare SSP2, and welcomed its first tenant – the Institute of Microelectronics in 1994.

By July 1995, SSP1 was fully developed, which then consisted of 240,000sq.m2 of R&D space in 21 buildings and housed more than 4,600 community members from 100 organisations. 

In 2000, an announcement was made to expand SSP2 to a new plot of land, equivalent to 15-hectare.  

With the completion of The Capricorn in 2001, SSP2 was fully developed as a science park that could rival leading international R&D facilities. By 2002, both SSP1 and SSP2 were home to a total of 270 organisations and companies, from different sectors and industries such as information technology, chemical engineering, electronics, life sciences and telecommunications.  

The Galen, the first building on the SSP2's expanded plot was completed on 29 June 2003, followed by The Kendall in 2009. 

In 2007, an announcement was made in conjunction with SSP's 25th anniversary in R&D innovations, that the park would be getting its first facelift which would commence in three phases over ten years. CINTECH IV was the first building to be completed in the redevelopment plan in 2009.

In 2014, a new road leading into Science Park Drive from the AYE Expressway via Normanton park, was opened to improve the accessibility into the park.  In 2015, Sparkle, a two-storey amenities development located between The Aries and The Gemini, was built to offer more F&B options and create a more vibrant and convenient working environment in SSP2.  By 2019, with the makeover of SSP1, buildings such as Pasteur, Pascal, Mendel, Maxell, Fleming and Faraday were demolished to make space for new developments such as DNV, DSO, Ascent and 5 Science Park Drive for the R&D companies as well as to improve access to greenery and recreational facilities.

On 17 October 2019, an announcement was made to set up Singapore's largest 5G smart estate trial at SSP, a partnership between CapitaLand, NavInfo DataTech and TPG Telecom. This allows partners to develop and testbed 5G-enabled Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies for intelligent mobility solutions in the park. 

By 2020, a full coverage 5G network has been set up across SSP, in support of Singapore's first 5G smart estate use-case, featuring even higher speeds and data capacity transmissions while reducing network latency by up to 10 times.  

On 28 October 2020, The Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab, Southeast Asia’s first industry-led lab for smart cities solutions development, initiated by CapitaLand and supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG), was officially opened by the Minister for Communications and Information, Mr S Iswaran. The lab, located at The Galen, is a living lab for the industry and public to discover, develop, test and deploy new smart city products, services and solutions at the 5G-enabled SSP.

To this day,  SSP is home to an exclusive community of over 12,000 and is committed to bringing our community members an environment where they can flourish even more. 

Explore Singapore Science Park

Because workplace can mean inspiration

Consisting of SSP1 and SSP2 within an exclusive area of 55-hectare, SSP takes pride in how it has redefined the concept of workspace for its community.

Visit and discover the hidden charm of our unique architectures and landscapes, the pleasure from our broad selection of amenities, or the excitement from a work environment bursting with energy.

The proximity to various research institutions, national agencies, and the tech start-up community also makes SSP the ideal place for Science & Technology companies, especially with SSP2 placing a strong emphasis on innovative space solutions.

• Pasir Panjang Pillbox Bunker

Singapore science park logo

The SSP logo is inspired by the Singapore dot, here portrayed as the structure of an atom to represent discovery, science, innovation, and dynamism. The three interlocking ovals represent partnership, diversity, and connectivity. The layers altogether construct a dynamic identity, which reflects our commitment to creating communities, igniting ideas in Singapore Science Park.

Pasir Panjang Pillbox (Bunker)

This machine-fun pillbox, now laid to sleep in Pasir Panjang and at the foot of SSP2, is one of the last remaining concrete military relics from World War II. According to history, it was used by the 1st Malaya Brigade to defend Singapore's Southern coast from the Japanese 18th Division troops.

• SSP Measured in Steps
• How Old is SSP?

Singapore Science Park measured in steps

Take a stroll around both SSP1 & 2 and you can easily clock in 8,000 steps – close to what recommended daily! While you are at it, we hear that 5 Science Park Drive and the entry point to SSP2 have some particularly good photo spots that are Instagram-worthy!

How Old is Singapore science park?

With a history of almost 40 years since the first tenant moved in in 1984, SSP is interspersed with a mixture of nostalgic and new buildings each with distinct traits, telling of each decade. One such cluster can be located at SSP1, where buildings take on the last names of famous scientists - James Chadwick, Marie Curie, and Henry Cavendish, to name a few.

With the progress of the rejuvenation plans, look forward to an even more vibrant SSP as time goes by.

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The National Research Foundation, Singapore (NRF), set up on 1 January 2006, is a department within the Prime Minister’s Office. The NRF sets the national direction for research and development (R&D) by developing policies, plans and strategies for research, innovation and enterprise. It also funds strategic initiatives and builds up R&D capabilities by nurturing research talent.

Singapore as a vibrant science and technology hub, with R&D contributing significantly to a knowledge intensive, innovation and entrepreneurial economy.

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Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge

The Land and Liveability National Innovation Challenge (L2NIC) is a multi-agency effort led by the MND and the National Research Foundation under the Prime Minister’s Office. It leverages on R&D to create innovative technological solutions to optimise Singapore’s space capacity for our long-term development needs, providing options for future generations. The funding allocation for the first phase from 2013 to 2018 is S$135 million. Find out more about the L2NIC here .

Urban Solutions & Sustainability R&D Congress 2023

Since 2011, the biennial Urban Sustainability R&D Congress has brought our research community, agencies and industry partners together to explore opportunities and forge collaboration in USS research and translation. In 2021, the R&D Congress went digital and was rebranded the Urban Sustainability R&D e-Symposia, a year-long series of thematic webinars. This year, the Urban Sustainability R&D Congress will return as a fully physical event titled the "Urban Solutions & Sustainability R&D Congress 2023"! The event will take place from 4-5 Oct 2023 at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. It will comprise of plenary sessions, breakout tracks, networking sessions and an exhibition showcasing the latest developments in the Urban Solutions and Sustainability (USS) domain. There is much to discuss, and many creative solutions to explore. So do save the dates! Find out more about the Urban Solutions & Sustainability R&D Congress 2023 here .

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Continental Opens its Third Research and Development Building in Singapore

The new seven-story building has a floor space of approximately 11,000 square meters and will accommodate employees from Continental’s Interior division and Transmission business unit from Powertrain division. With this addition, the location will hire more than 500 employees with future-ready skillsets in the next few years.

“In 2012, we had 650 employees, and to date we have more than 1,300, doubling the figure in just over a span of six years. Our target is to grow to more than 2,000 employees within the next five years. The rapid development of the automotive industry necessitates having sufficient talent, with the expertise to meet Continental’s customers, most of which are international automotive leaders.” said Mr Lo Kien Foh, Managing Director of Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd.

The center will house its diverse talent pool of more than 20 nationalities. While its first two buildings were designed to optimize space, the third building is designed around people – to be relevant to the way they work. Innovative, inclusive, future-ready features include hydraulically adjustable workstations, sound-proofed booths for teleconferencing, and small discussion pods to name a few. The interior of the building also boasts vibrant colors with natural lighting and wide open spaces to create a stimulating work environment.

Continental develops pioneering technologies and services for sustainable and connected mobility of people and their goods. Founded in 1871, the technology company offers safe, efficient, intelligent and affordable solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic and transportation. In 2017, Continental generated sales of €44 billion and currently employs more than 240,000 people in 61 countries.

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Home › News Releases › Continental opens its New Research and Development Extension Building in Singapore

Continental opens its New Research and Development Extension Building in Singapore

Continental, a leading international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industry partner has opened a new extension building to expand its R&D capabilities in Singapore. With a total capital investment of S$29.7 million (EUR 18.3 million), the extension aims to meet the demand of growing engineering requirements in view of Continental’s worldwide business expansion and the … Continued

• By Martin Kahl
• November 27, 2014

Continental, a leading international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industry partner has opened a new extension building to expand its R&D capabilities in Singapore. With a total capital investment of S$29.7 million (EUR 18.3 million), the extension aims to meet the demand of growing engineering requirements in view of Continental’s worldwide business expansion and the growth of the automobile industry in Asia.

Continental is currently one of the best positioned automotive suppliers and industry partners in the world. In Asia the company operates 29 R&D centers. Already in operation as a Continental subsidiary since 2007, Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd is one of the company’s three largest Asian R&D centers. “We want to grow stronger in Asia and have increased our sales in Asia to approximately €6.4 billion in 2013. The Interior division is constantly striving to increase sales in Asia. The opening of our new, large-scale development site in Singapore is a clear sign of our commitment to local development and production in Asia. The extension of our R&D center in Singapore strongly supports Continental’s growth strategy in Asia,” highlighted Eelco Spoelder, Head of Business Unit Instrumentation & Driver HMI and Chairman of the Board of Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd.

“Continental’s expansion is testament to Singapore’s talented engineering workforce and conducive business environment. We are pleased that Singapore continues to be an ideal location for Continental to develop new products and systems for Asia and beyond. ” said Mr. Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The new extension building accommodates around 450 employees and provides a total floor space of 5,000 square meters.

The number of Continental’s employees in Singapore has grown from about 650 in July 2012 to more than 900 today. Great progress has been evident with the significant increase in workforce just over a span of two years. With this aggressive extension plan, we commit to use local knowledge, in collaboration with our international teams, to serve customers globally and aim to offer innovative, intelligent and sustainable solutions. We will continue to grow in manpower and technical competence to more than 1300 employees within the next few years” said Mr. Lo Kien Foh, Managing Director of Continental Singapore Pte Ltd.

Continental Automotive Singapore’s new extension building will house R&D and administrative offices from four Business Units of the Interior Division, namely Instrumentation & Driver HMI, Infotainment and Connectivity, Body and Security and Commercial Vehicles and Aftermarket, as well as ContiTech and the Tires Division. Continental develops intelligent technologies for transporting people and their goods. As a reliable partner, the international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partner provides sustainable, safe, comfortable, individual and affordable solutions. In 2013, the corporation generated sales of approximately €33.3 billion with its five divisions, Chassis & Safety, Interior, Powertrain, Tires, and ContiTech. Continental currently employs around 189,000 people in 49 countries.

Information management and Intelligent Transportation Systems are at the very heart of the Interior division, which provides a broad range of products for very different vehicles. The product portfolio includes instrument clusters, multifunctional displays and head-up displays, control units, electronic car-entry and tire-information systems, radios, infotainment systems, input devices and control panels, climate control units, telematics solutions and services, software as well as cockpits. Interior employs worldwide more than 34.300 people and generated sales of approximately €6.6 billion in 2013.

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Continental opens its third research and development building in Singapore

Jun 8, 2018 | From Our Partners

The technology company and automotive supplier Continental has opened its third Research & Development (R&D) building in Singapore. The new building aims to meet the demand of growing engineering capacities driven by the worldwide business expansion, particularly in Asia. It is one of the three largest Continental R&D centers in Asia, and among the largest private R&D facilities in Singapore. The new seven-story building has a floor space of approximately 11,000 square meters. It will accommodate employees from Continental’s Interior and Powertrain division. With this addition, the location will hire more than 500 employees in the next few years.

“Our presence in Asia has grown significantly. In 2017 we made 22 percent of our total sales in the region. The opening of our third R&D building in Singapore attests to our confidence in, and commitment to, Singapore as a strategic location to expand our research and development centers in Asia. With the new building designed to foster innovation, inclusiveness, we are future ready. We will be hiring more engineers with the relevant competencies and knowledge to ride the growth and demand for new technologies in the industry.” said Mr Helmut Matschi, member of the Continental Executive Board and head of the Interior division.

“Continental’s latest R&D expansion in Singapore will introduce new focus areas such as intelligent mobility and mobility services, given the burgeoning interest in urban mobility. We look forward to more like-minded partners leveraging Singapore’s strong research capabilities to develop, test and commercialize mobility solutions to serve the region’s increasing mobility needs,” said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board.

“In 2012, we had 650 employees, and to date we have more than 1,300, doubling the figure in just over a span of six years. Our target is to grow to more than 2,000 employees within the next five years. The rapid development within the automotive industry necessitates having sufficient talent.” said Mr Lo Kien Foh, Managing Director of Continental Automotive Singapore Pte Ltd. The center will house its diverse talent pool of more than 20 nationalities. The third building is designed around people – to be relevant to the way they work. Innovative, inclusive, future-ready features include hydraulically adjustable workstations, sound-proofed booths for teleconferencing, and small discussion pods to name a few. The interior of the building also boasts vibrant colors with natural lighting and wide open spaces to create a stimulating work environment.

Source and photo credits: Continental

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Building a Liveable City: Urban Planning and Real Estate

2 July 2019

Khoo Teng Chye, Executive Director, Centre for Liveable Cities, Ministry of National Development | Past Chair, ULI Singapore [This article was first published in CLC Insights]

Since the 1960s, Singapore has been transformed from an overcrowded urban slum into one of the world’s most liveable cities, with a population density that has almost tripled. Urban planning — so vital in building the city — also impacted the real estate industry. How can the industry become more proactive in shaping Singapore’s future? This question can be explored through the four main phases of how urban planning and real estate development have evolved together over the decades.

Four phases of how Singapore has evolved since the 1960s. Source: CLC

1960s to 1970s: Land for Urban Redevelopment and Basic Infrastructure

In the 1960s, faced with overcrowded slums and fragmented land ownership, the government’s top priority was solving the chronic, very serious housing problem and ensuring enough land for new towns and urban renewal. With a successful public housing programme, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) built some 50,000 flats in its first five years, more than the 23,000 flats built by the former Singapore Improvement Trust since 1927.*

Land Acquisition

Then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in a parliamentary debate, outlined two broad principles for amending legislation on land acquisition: (1) No private landowner should benefit from development at public expense; and (2) Prices paid on acquisition for public purposes should not be higher than what the land would have been worth otherwise. “Increases in land values, because of public development, should not benefit the landowner, but should benefit the community at large,”^ he said.

Hence, the Land Acquisition Act was amended in 1966 to strengthen government powers to acquire land, and to limit compensation. Much of the land the government now owns was acquired by development agencies: HDB for housing, JTC for industrial estates, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for the Central Area, Public Utilities Board for utilities, Port of Singapore Authority for the port and Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore for the airport. From 1960 to 2007, land owned by the public sector doubled from 44 per cent to over 85 per cent.

Concept Plan 1971 outlining Singapore’s urban structure for a modern city and safeguarding land for development Source: URA

Land Planning

Once the government became the biggest landowner, it began building new towns and redeveloping the Central Area comprehensively and rapidly. A United Nations Development Programme team, working with a young team of planners, architects and engineers here, drew up the Concept Plan in 1971 after four years of study — Singapore’s first strategic land use and transport blueprint for the urban structure of a modern city.

The real estate industry, quite small then, did not play a significant role in Singapore’s development. The government was nevertheless concerned that, with higher zoning and plot ratios, owners of private developments would enjoy excessive profits. Hence, the development charge, a betterment tax, was introduced and conscientiously implemented. This was unlike in Britain, where the idea came from, as a lack of political consensus there restricted its implementation.

The urban planning system then was inherited from the colonial-era Town Planning Act, and a 1958 master plan too rigid and inappropriate for a rapidly growing Singapore. Based on the Concept Plan, agencies drew up their own plans for HDB towns, JTC industrial parks, URA’s Central Area plans and other infrastructure plans. The Planning Department’s main task was to ensure that land was carefully safeguarded for new towns, the Central Area, roads, and subway and utility reserves.

1970s to 1980s: Building the City in Partnership with the Private Sector

The task of urban renewal now began in earnest, as URA became planner and master developer of the Central Business District.

The key person responsible was Alan Choe, my first boss at URA, a young, dynamic architect-planner who learnt a lot about urban renewal in the West, especially from the Boston Redevelopment Authority. He adopted some of Boston’s methods, wisely adapted to suit Singapore. As an architect, he developed very detailed urban design guidelines for places like Shenton Way, Golden Shoe District, the Orchard Road belt and the Golden Mile strip.

URA Sale of Sites Source: URA , Changing the face of Singapore through the URA sale of sites, 1995, Pg 5

What distinguished Singapore’s approach from many other cities was how the private sector was involved to implement the plan through URA’s Sale of Sites programme (now the Government Land Sales programme). It was creatively conceived to involve developers through a transparent tender process. As long as developers built according to guidelines, they had no problem obtaining planning approval. To attract bidders, incentives such as property tax concessions as well as financing through a 10-year instalment plan were given. All these significantly derisked projects by reducing uncertainty and approval time.

However, even with these incentives, businessmen had to be persuaded to delve into the risky business of real estate. Choe told of how he had to call on business people like S.P. Tao, a shipping tycoon then, to tender for URA sites. Choe had to sell the new city vision, how the government would make it happen in partnership with the private sector, with URA providing the planning vision and guidance, putting in infrastructure and coordinating overall development as master developer.

This was Singapore’s Public-Private-Partnership approach to urban renewal. The approach quickly gained confidence among developers risking their capital, who saw the tremendous upside of helping to build a rapidly growing city.

The sale of sites programme was a key instrument to encourage certain types of development, such as offices for financial institutions, shopping, entertainment and hotels along Orchard Road and the Havelock Road belt. It also promoted high-density living, with a new housing typology in high-rise condominiums with green spaces and community facilities based on planning guidelines.

Again, Choe, as an architect, introduced the idea of awarding sites by giving design very serious consideration. For developers, the stakes became so high that they hired top international architects like I.M. Pei (Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Building), Kenzo Tange (Overseas Union Bank Centre), Paul Rudolph (Concourse) and John Portman (Marina Square).

OCBC Building I.M. Pei

OUB Centre Kenzo Tange

Concourse Paul Rudolph

Marina Square John Portman

At that time, URA’s guidelines were not publicised, so there was uncertainty over planning requirements. This lack of transparency made public officials susceptible to corrupt practices. Property had a boom-and-bust market, with the government releasing more land during periods of boom and withholding sales when prices fell. Attractive financial incentives also created a volatile market.

Things came to a head, and Member of Parliament Tan Soo Khoon, in a famous speech in 1986, called the property market a “casino”, with URA as “banker”. This was after a property market crash when some developers could not find funds to continue development, and returned the sites to URA undeveloped. A Cabinet minister committed suicide when investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

The new city was being built in partnership with the private sector, but the planning system needed to catch up. These events prompted a serious overhaul of the planning regime when S. Dhanabalan took over as National Development Minister in 1987.

1990s to 2000s: Building a City of Character

Changes to the planning system.

The changes were quite sweeping, making the system more open, transparent and stable. I was part of the team that brought about many of these changes, as MND’s first Director of Strategic Planning, working closely with Lim Hng Kiang, then Deputy Secretary.

URA took on a clearer role as planner and regulator, and no longer as developer. It returned most of its land holdings. Zoning was simplified and plot ratio calculations streamlined with the abolition of net floor area, so that only one parameter, gross floor area, was used. This removed a lot of administrative effort and uncertainty under the old regime. A team led by MND created what is now known as the development charge table, which tells developers upfront what they must pay.

Headline ‘Developers give up two URA land parcels’ Source: Singapore Monitor, 28 April 1984 Full article here

Headline ‘Option for Pontiac to revive Rahardja Centre project’ Source: Times, 3 Aug 1989

With the new transparency, the real estate industry began to attract international capital, and new instruments like Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which were pioneered by Singapore in this region, resulted in a more mature and sophisticated capital market.

All financial incentives for sale of sites were withdrawn as, by now, the banking and finance industry had the confidence and expertise to finance development. Land was released in a steady stream rather than along with market vagaries.

However, a surplus of capital internationally and Singapore being seen as a safe haven meant that the government had to periodically intervene, especially in the residential property market, with cooling measures.

The 1991 Concept Plan — unveiled as “ Living the Next Lap ” — envisaged building a northeast corridor and decentralising with regional and subregional centres. The master plan became a forward-looking and public plan with the introduction of Development Guide Plans (DGPs), which clearly expressed planning intentions for 55 DGP areas, with clear zoning, plot ratios and other detailed urban design guidelines, so that developers knew exactly what they were allowed to build.

A Liveable and Sustainable City

There was also a continuing focus on building a liveable, sustainable city of character.

There began in the late 1980s a strong emphasis on retaining built heritage. URA did extensive surveys of historic areas, and drew up a conservation master plan and strategy which involved URA becoming the conservation authority, setting guidelines for conserving buildings, gazetting buildings and districts, and bringing in the private sector, again using the sale of sites mechanism. Projects such as Clarke Quay, Bugis Junction and Chijmes were sold, as were many shophouses in Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam.

The Singapore River master plan saw the creation of a district of old warehouses adaptively reused for shopping, offices, hotels and homes, juxtaposed with modern buildings. New modes of sale were experimented with, such as auctions, the two-envelope system, and fixed land prices for the two integrated resort projects. The Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) was sold using an option pricing method to reduce development risk, as the objective was to sell a big piece of land for master development by the private sector.

Clover By The Park condominium next to Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters features at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Source: littledayout.com

To advance sustainability and make the city greener and more liveable, more emphasis was placed on promoting Green Mark buildings and high-rise greenery. The Active, Beautiful, Clean (ABC) Waters programme saw strong interest in creating water projects, which commanded a premium. Projects along the waterway in Punggol Eco-town all began to include variations of “water” in their names.

The sale of sites programme was also used to promote sustainable green buildings, with sites sold by tender being required to achieve a minimum Green Mark in selected strategic areas such as Marina Bay, Jurong Lake District, Kallang Riverside, Paya Lebar Central, Woodlands Regional Centre and Punggol Eco-town. Today, sites in strategic areas are required to be designed and built using the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly and Building Information Modelling systems.

As Singapore has come a long way as a well-planned, liveable and sustainable city, the real estate industry, now highly sophisticated and professional, also continues to innovate.

The transparency of a forward-looking master plan also gave rise to a new phenomenon of en-bloc development, flourishing especially during market upcycles, as owners of strata titles and even landed properties banded together to sell their properties for redevelopment. This helped to realise the master plan, while government policy facilitated this with lower thresholds of ownership.

WHAT’S NEXT?

But what’s next for Singapore — how will the city develop? How should we plan for it? How can the real estate industry help to shape the future?

Continuous Building, and Draft Master Plan 2019

As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said, “we are not done building Singapore yet”.** There are many exciting new opportunities at Marina Bay, Greater Southern Waterfront, Jurong Lake District and, further down the line, Paya Lebar when the airbase is closed. Exhibitions on these plans, such as the one on the draft 2019 Master Plan at the URA Centre, will help people understand the challenges of building a liveable and sustainable city with all its constraints. While some precious greenery will be developed, many new ideas such as nature parks will more than replace the losses. To face new challenges, Singapore has to continue to innovate systemically, like before.

Challenges for Singapore

What are these new challenges?

Climate change, changing demographics (especially ageing and a more diverse society), rapid technological change, social media, lifestyle trends towards co-working, co-living, a sharing economy with ride-sharing, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and big data.

Beyond the Master Plan, in order to solve the problems these challenges will bring, and create new opportunities, more systemic ideas are needed. For example, building a city in nature, or a city for all ages.

But what is the role of the real estate industry? For universities, research and education in urban systems is critical. Singapore has built up a significant store of knowledge, which should be shared, and used to create new knowledge. Our universities are actively undertaking urban systems research with CLC and other agencies with studio projects such as in Tampines, one-north, and Orchard Road. The National University of Singapore (NUS) is rather proud that its real estate department is just about the only one in the world that is part of the architecture and urban planning school rather than the business school.

CapitaLand-CDL Joint Venture for Prime Site in Sengkang Centre. Source: CapitaLand Limited (2019). CapitaLand-CDL joint venture wins prime site in Sengkang Central

Involvement of Other Stakeholders

But what role can developers and real estate financial institutions play in shaping the city? I sense that the industry is beginning to take a much broader view of their role. URA has received strong support for its Business Improvement Districts pilot schemes, where property owners come together to do place management for neighbourhoods. Orchard Road Business Association is active in reshaping Orchard Road. Developers are becoming master developers, rather than being led by government. In Sengkang, CapitaLand and City Developments Limited are building an integrated commercial-cum-community development including a community centre and hawker centre.

CLC and URA sponsored the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an international organisation of real estate professionals, to bring in an international panel to give views on how the private sector can participate in Jurong Lake District . This intensive process included interviewing 60 industry professionals from government, the private sector and academia. New forms of partnership are developing between the public and private sectors.

Internationally, the industry is spreading its wings. Companies are doing city master planning in Asia, Africa and Middle East. Singapore has major integrated city and township projects in Suzhou, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Amaravati. To offer an integrated package, it is also essential to involve smaller companies and other parts of the real estate value chain, such as legal and financial services.

Infrastructure Asia was set up by Enterprise Singapore to promote Singapore as an infrastructure finance hub. There is good potential for the industry to grow, as the region is urbanising very rapidly and the need for well-planned, liveable cities is urgent. Singapore is often looked upon as a model, but how can we better “sell” brand Singapore and public and private sector expertise as an integrated package?

Singapore was built primarily by public sector agencies in the earlier years. Later, the private sector became an active partner, producing a boom period. This was followed by a period of putting in place a good urban planning system and building a highly sophisticated real estate industry.

Can Singapore now become a global hub to take to the world this new partnership between the private and public sectors in creating urban systems solutions? That is our collective challenge.

* Savage, Victor, and Eng Teo. “Singapore Landscape: A Historical Overview of Housing Change.” Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, vol. 6, no. 1, 1985.

^ Singapore Parliamentary Debates. (10 June 1964). Vol. 23, Col. 25. See also observations by then-P.M. Lee Kuan Yew and then Minister for Law and National Development E. W. Barker during the second and third readings of the Land Acquisition (Amendment No 2) Bill in 1964-66 and Singapore Parliamentary Debates. (16 June 1965). Vol. 23, Col. 811; and (26 October 1966). Vol 25. Col 410.

** Lee, Hsien Loong. “National Day Message 2018.” Prime Minister’s Office Singapore, Prime Minister’s Office Singapore, 8 Aug. 2018, www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/national-daymessage-2018.

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Choy Chan Pong and Kwek Sian Choo for their inputs; as well as Phua Shi Hui for research assistance, Koh Buck Song for editing the text and Ng Yong Yi for layout design. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Ministry of National Development. If you would like to provide feedback on this article, please contact [email protected] .

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Be Inspired by the Visions, Creativity and Stories Behind Singapore’s Architectural Legacies at the Singapore Architecture Collection’s Inaugural Showcase

- The “To Draw an Idea: Retracing the Designs of William Lim Associates – W Architects” and “Dare to Design: Singapore Architecture 1960s – 2000s” exhibitions present the most comprehensive collection of Singapore’s architectural materials to-date.     - Visitors to take away rich insights on the evolution of Singapore’s cityscape, society and identity through the lens of extensive architectural resources. - Series of exciting programmes lined up for the young and old to discover how architectural efforts shape a liveable and endearing Singapore.    Explore and learn about how Singapore’s post-war architecture reflected the evolution of the nation’s built environment, society and identity in the inaugural showcase of the new Singapore Architecture Collection. Jointly organised by the National Library Board (NLB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in partnership with local architecture firm W Architects, the exhibition “To Draw an Idea: Retracing the Designs of William Lim Associates – W Architects 1 ” features over 500 architectural archival materials and artefacts. It was launched today by Ms Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development and Finance, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. Also launched on the same day is NLB’s “Dare to Design: Singapore Architecture 1960s–2000s” satellite exhibition at the National Library Building, celebrating Singapore’s architectural legacy and allowing Singaporeans to check out architecture stories across multiple locations nationwide. "To Draw an Idea” presents insights into how visionary and innovative designs were inspired by the times and in turn, shaped Singapore’s urban development, distinctive cityscape and unique identity. It features the first comprehensive contribution from an architecture firm to the Singapore Architecture Collection that was announced in August 2023, and showcases archival materials of William Lim Associates – W Architects’ 19 key projects from the 1980s to the 2010s. On display include architectural drawings and artefacts from the refurbishment of the National Museum of Singapore, to residential projects like Paterson Edge which introduced compact city living and early adaptive reuse proposals for heritage areas such as the Singapore River. They reflect the evolution of the firm’s work across four decades and demonstrate how global architectural influences, local developments, building regulations and changing aspirations amongst the population have influenced the firm’s design processes and creative visions over the years.  The collection seeks to document, preserve and make available a wider repository of significant archival materials on Singapore’s modern and contemporary architecture. Materials donated to the collection will be carefully preserved and protected against material deterioration. For more information about the collection, refer to Annex A . NLB’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ng Cher Pong, said: “This inaugural showcase from the Singapore Architecture Collection tells our rich Singapore Stories through the materials generously contributed by our local architecture community. Everybody has their own memories of many of the landmarks featured, such as the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. We hope that through this exhibition and the setting up of the Singapore Architecture Collection, we will be able to inspire even more Singaporeans to share their stories and help build our shared heritage and identity.” URA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lim Eng Hwee, said: “We are encouraged by the strong support from the industry since embarking on the collection. By preserving valuable resources from Singapore’s architectural heritage, built environment industry professionals and the wider community can gain an appreciation of how our urban environment has evolved over the decades in response to our changing needs and aspirations. We will continue to partner industry and academia to grow the collection not only as a rich resource for research and education, but also to inspire the future as we work to continuously shape a liveable and endearing home for generations of Singaporeans to come.” W Architects’ Managing Director, Mok Wei Wei, said: “Building and sustaining a rich archive serves as a valuable record of our cumulative knowledge. It encourages us to reflect on our own works and can be used for research on Singapore’s architecture. Such an archive is also important for Singapore as it contributes to our understanding of our built heritage. Of all the designs and drawings that we produce, not everything is realised, not everything will remain intact, not everything will stay. This means the architectural materials, together with published documents, become the only tangible things that survive to tell the story of the creative endeavour of architects, and the cultural legacy of the society they live in.”   “To Draw an Idea: Retracing the Designs of William Lim Associates – W Architects” exhibition will run for six months from 28 November 2023 to 8 June 2024 at The URA Centre ground floor atrium. Admission to the exhibition is free. Refer to Annex B for the exhibition highlights. Visitors can participate in guided tours of the exhibition, talks by subject matter experts and children’s workshops at the URA Centre and National Library Building. They can sign up for these programmes via https://go.gov.sg/tdai-progrm-collection . Refer to Annex C for the exhibition programmes.  The “Dare to Design: Singapore Architecture 1960s–2000s” satellite exhibition shares design insights and stories behind some of Singapore’s unique and innovative landmarks and buildings built from the 1960s to 2000s, such as the Golden Mile Complex, Pearl Bank Apartments and the National Theatre. Through books, building plans, photographs, videos and other materials on display, the public can learn more about the Singapore’s architecture story and journey, and the many bold ideas and visions in building design that have captured hearts and minds across time.  “Dare to Design: Singapore Architecture 1960s–2000s” will also run for six months from 28 November 2023 to 9 June 2024 at the National Library Building’s lobby. Admission to the exhibition is free. A roving display of the “Dare to Design” exhibition will also tour at the following locations: • 28 November 2023 to 31 January 2024: Bishan Public Library Level 1 Atrium  • 1 February 2024 to 31 March 2024: Jurong Regional Library Level 1  • 1 April to 9 June 2024 : Tampines Regional Library Level 2

1 William Lim Associates (WLA) was founded in 1982. The firm was renamed W Architects (WA) in 2003.

About National Library Board

The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through its network of 28 libraries, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore. NLB also forges strategic partnerships that encourage awareness, appreciation and greater discovery of Singapore's history through its rich collections in Singapore and the region. NLB achieves excellence through innovation, focusing on citizen engagement and co-creation, resource and digital innovation. This creates learning opportunities, greater access to library resources, services, and archival collections, as well as a continual development of innovative library spaces. Established on 1 September 1995 as a statutory board, NLB is under the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI).

For more information, please visit the NLB website , and NLB’s  Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube channels.

About Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is Singapore’s land use planning and conservation agency. Our mission is “to make Singapore a great city to live, work and play”. We strive to create an endearing home and a vibrant city through long-term planning and innovation, in partnership with the community. We have transformed Singapore into one of the most liveable cities in Asia through judicious land use planning and good urban design. Adopting a long-term and comprehensive planning approach, we formulate strategic plans such as the Long-Term Plan and the Master Plan to guide the physical development of Singapore in a sustainable manner. Developed to support economic growth, our plans and policies are focused on achieving a quality living environment for Singapore. We take on a multi-faceted role to turn plans and visions into reality. As the main government land sales agent, we attract and channel private capital investments to develop sites that support planning, economic and social objectives. Through our regulatory function, we ensure that development works are aligned with our plans. As the conservation authority, we have an internationally recognised conservation programme, and have successfully conserved not just single buildings, but entire districts. We also partner the community to enliven our public spaces to create a car-lite, people-friendly and liveable city for all to enjoy. In shaping a distinctive city, we promote architecture and urban design excellence, and innovate to build a resilient city of opportunity that fulfils the aspirations of our people. Visit www.ura.gov.sg for more information. About William Lim Associates and W Architects Founded in 1982, William Lim Associates (WLA) was the third firm (the two other firms are the Malayan Architects Co-Partnership and Design Partnership) affiliated to architect William S. W. Lim (1932-2023), who had contributed to Singapore’s post-independent architectural landscape. Together with his contemporaries, he had designed significant buildings such as People’s Park Complex and Golden Mile Complex. A prolific writer and thinker, Lim significantly shaped Singapore’s architectural discourse.  Architect Mok Wei Wei joined WLA in 1982, eventually becoming the lead architect for many of the firm’s groundbreaking projects. The firm was renamed W Architects (WA) after Lim retired from practice in 2003. Currently the Managing Director of W Architects, Mok’s numerous architectural projects have received critical acclaim both locally and internationally. His works have been featured in numerous regional and international publications. He was conferred the President*s Design Award in 2007. Mok is currently a Professor (Practice) of the National University of Singapore and Chairperson of the Department of Architecture’s Industry Advisory Board.

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Quah Jia Ling Weber Shandwick  Tel: 9699 0830 Email: [email protected]

Annex A - About the Singapore Architecture Collection

Building upon the rich architectural materials in the National Library and National Archives of Singapore, the Singapore Architecture Collection seeks to document, preserve and make available a wider repository of significant archival materials on Singapore’s modern and contemporary architecture that symbolise our growth as a city as well as strengthen our national heritage and identity

The collection comprises architectural models, photographs, drawings, artefacts, oral history recordings and more, contributed by architects, planners, urban designers and other professionals from the built environment industry. These materials not only capture Singapore’s architectural and urban design journey through the innovative works of pioneer and current practitioners, but also provide a rich resource for research, education and design inspiration in shaping Singapore’s built environment for present and future generations. The collection is managed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the National Library Board and the National Heritage Board, in close partnership with the Singapore Institute of Architects, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore University of Technology and Design. It forms part of a larger collaborative effort to build up a design collection for the nation, which covers a range of disciplines, from fashion to graphic design and architecture. 

Contributions to the collection to date

In addition to William Lim Associates – W Architects, other architects and firms have also contributed to the collection. They include architects Chan Sau Yan Sonny, Tay Kheng Soon and Dr Goh Chong Chia, and architectural firm, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers.   The collection is still growing and welcomes contributions from others. Architects, planners, urban designers and others in the built environment industry interested in contributing to the collection can write to [email protected] .

Public programmes and access 

The public and industry can learn and discover more about the Singapore Architecture Collection by participating in a series of initiatives, starting from the “To Draw an Idea” exhibition and public programmes. The full collection can be accessed on the National Library Board’s OneSearch, at www.search.nlb.gov.sg/onesearch , while writeups on key materials can be found in the Singapore Architecture Collection booklet at www.go.gov.sg/sgarchitecturecollection . 

Highlights from the collection 

Below are notable materials currently in the Singapore Architecture Collection. 

Annex B - Highlights from the Exhibition “To Draw an Idea”

The exhibition is presented in three segments:

Annex C - Programme Highlights

As part of the "To Draw an Idea" exhibition, guided tours and other programmes will be available from November 2023 to June 2024. Admission is free and members of the public and professionals can register via https://go.gov.sg/tdai-progrm-collection .

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Data on research and development (R&D) in Singapore are collected through the National Survey of Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE), conducted on an annual  basis by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The scope of the survey covers innovation and R&D activities in the government, public research institutes, institutes of higher learning and the private sector.

To facilitate international comparability, data from the survey are collected and presented based on guidelines provided in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) "Frascati Manual: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development" (2015 Edition).

Data on patents resulting from R&D activities carried out in Singapore that are published in the National Survey of Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) are as reported by survey respondents. Only one patent is awarded to each invention, irrespective of the number of countries to which the patent is being applied or awarded.

Please click on the topic to view the available data tables.

Title : Organisations Performing Research And Development By Sector, Annual

Title : Research And Development Expenditure By Major Industry In The Private Sector, Annual

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Government agencies communicate via .gov.sg websites (e.g. go.gov.sg/open). Trusted websites Trusted websites

Look for a lock ( ) or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Singapore's Water Loop

Key initiatives, get involved, places of interest, professionals, requirements, awards and certification, research & innovation, tenders & contracts, events and programmes.

Research and Development (R&D)

R&D Overview & Tech Roadmap

To overcome water challenges and ensure long-term sustainability of Singapore's water supply, PUB lends its support to various water-related research and development in the region and globally. The overarching goals of our R&D are to increase water resources and improve water quality while reducing energy and chemical consumption, reliance on manpower and waste generation.

R&D at a Glance

Technology domains of interests, r&d approach.

Read R&D at a Glance for more information about:

• PUB’s R&D track record (e.g. funding investment over the years, key research areas, and progress achieved in R&D)
• Operational targets and R&D focus areas
• Available collaborative opportunities 

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PUB's R&D publication "Innovation in Water, Singapore" is available for download via the  link . 

• Watershed management
• Water treatment, desalination and reuse
• Used water treatment
• Water quality and security
• Network management (water and used water)
• Industrial water solutions
• Digitalisation
• Coastal protection and climate change adaptation & mitigation
• Waste reduction and resource recovery

American Water Works Association (AWWA)

Evoqua Water Technologies

Hydranautics

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT )

National Water Research Institute (NWRI )

Pall Corporation (PALL)

Sandia National Laboratories

Stanford University

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)

University of California, Berkeley

University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

University of Waterloo

Water Research Foundation

Saline Water Conversion Corporation

Global Water Research Coalition

KWR Watercycle Research Institute

AeroLion Technologies

Asahi Kasei

Century Water Systems & Technologies

GS Engineering & Construction

Hydroinformatics Institute

Mitsubishi Chemical Group

Nanyang Technological University (NTU )

National University of Singapore (NUS)

Nitto Denko

NGK Insulators (NGK)

Singapore Polytechnic

Tsinghua University

Centre for Water Research

University of Canterbury

Frequently asked questions

1. what are the r&d funding supports available, 2. where can i test my technology, 3. what should i do if i have an innovative idea or technology to share with pub, innovation funding, industrial water solutions, publications.

More From Forbes

Developers backed by asian billionaires bid for $6 billion singapore project.

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A man cycles along a bridge in Singapore on January 4, 2021, as the skyline is seen in the ... [+] background. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / AFP) (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN/Afp/AFP via Getty Images)

Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi ’s Frasers Property and City Developments—controlled by Singaporean real estate tycoon Kwek Leng Beng —have forged an alliance with three other Asian developers to bid for the development of a central business district in the western Singapore suburb of Jurong.

The group—which also includes Singapore-based property giant CapitaLand Development and Japanese developers Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan—emerged as the sole bidder for the development of the 6.5-hectare Jurong Lake District (JLD) when the tender closed on Tuesday.

The project—which will be built on three parcels of land near the Jurong East MRT interchange and the future Jurong Lake District station—comprises 1,700 residential units, 146,000 square meters of office space and 73,000 square meters of commercial space allocated for shops, restaurants, entertainment facilities and a hotel.

The government is pursuing its biggest initiative to build the biggest business district outside of the city center as vacancies at prime office rents in the Raffles Place and Marina Bay climbed to a 15-year high in the first quarter of this year amid increasing demand for office space from multinational companies relocating to Singapore. The project will be progressively constructed over 10 to 15 years, the group said in a joint statement .

While the group did not provide an estimate of the project cost, real estate website Mingtiandi said building the suburban central business would cost about S$8.8 billion ($6 billion). With the entire development expected to have a total built space of 3.9 million square feet, and an estimated land cost of about S$1,000 per square foot per plot ratio, analysts expect the consortium to pay the government about S$3.9 billion for the site.

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“We look forward to collaborating with our reputable partners to realize our shared vision of JLD as a vibrant, global business district that will set a new benchmark for Singapore and contribute towards the future of sustainable cities,” Soon Su Lin, CEO of Frasers Property Singapore, said in the statement. Frasers Property has developed master-planned projects across the region, including One Bangkok, the largest holistically integrated district in Thailand.

Frasers Property, CapitaLand Development, and City Developments will each own 25% stakes each in the consortium, while their Japanese partners will hold 12.5% stake each.

“These companies have superior credentials and strong track records in master planning and developing mixed-use precincts that are vibrant, sustainable and commercially successful in Singapore and overseas,” Tricia Song, head of research for Southeast Asia at property consultant CBRE, said in a note. “We believe the results should be positive.”

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Canada's First Nations are building the densest neighborhood in the country by reclaiming their ancestral land and defying NIMBYs

• Canada's First Nations are breaking ground on historic housing and community development projects.
• The country's most significant developments are happening in Vancouver, its most expensive city. 
• These indigenous "city-building" projects are some of the biggest globally and could be a model for the US.

Much like in the US, Canada is experiencing a severe housing affordability crisis, and the country's indigenous communities, known as First Nations, have long suffered disproportionately from inadequate housing.

But Canada's indigenous communities are fighting to address the issue. In Vancouver alone, several First Nations are leading a major push to build housing on indigenous-owned land, in some cases partnering with the federal government to build entirely new communities that will house tens of thousands of people, while generating wealth for generations of First Nations members to come.

Ground has already been broken on one of these projects , 11 towers with 6,000 homes being built by the Squamish Nation on a 12-acre piece of land near downtown Vancouver, Canada's most expensive real-estate market. The Squamish people were forced off of this land in the early 20th century and finally won back their ancestral territory about 20 years ago.

Because the development, named Sen̓áḵw, is on Squamish Nation reserve land, it's not subject to the same governmental land-use regulations as land elsewhere in the city, allowing for a speedier approval and construction process. The first three towers are set to be completed in November 2025, and the rest of the development is scheduled to be done in about eight years.

Mindy Wight, CEO of the Squamish development group building Sen̓áḵw, called it "the creation of a modern Squamish village" in an interview with Business Insider.

Wight sees Sen̓áḵw and other indigenous developments as particularly innovative ways to solve the region's housing crisis.

"While the Nation benefits from generating wealth and prosperity for its members, it's actually solving some of those challenges that are facing Vancouver," Wight said.

She noted that about 20% of the units will be designated as affordable housing, and 250 units will be reserved for Nation members.

The new housing is much needed for Vancouverites, especially First Nation members. Canada's federal auditor general recently condemned a "distressing and persistent pattern of failure" by federal programs designed to support First Nations housing and infrastructure, among other services. She said she was "completely discouraged" by the number of First Nations families forced to live in unsafe or inadequate housing.

In a separate effort, three First Nations — the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples — came together to create a partnership to develop six different pieces of land in Vancouver and the surrounding area. The value of the land alone, which has been acquired by the Nations over the last decade, now exceeds $4 billion, according to Brennan Cook, vice president of the MST Development Corporation, the real estate company representing the three First Nations.

"What they're doing here is groundbreaking, it really hasn't been done elsewhere," Cook said.

In two major projects in Vancouver, the MST Development Corporation joined with the Canadian federal government to buy two large pieces of land in the city that will be developed into entirely new communities, with schools, libraries, daycares, public space, and thousands of units of housing.

One 90-acre planned development, called Jericho Lands, will house up to 18,000 people — more than doubling the area's current population. The project is moving along — the Vancouver City Council unanimously approved its policy statement in January, greenlighting the creation of more finalized plans. The other development, Heather Street Lands, a 21-acre site in central Vancouver, will have about 2,600 homes.

The Nations want the developments to be an investment that reaps returns over time, so it will offer 99-year leases to homeowners, rather than selling off any of its property.

"The idea is to create a legacy economic engine for the Nations to provide for their community members, whether that be the preservation and retention of culture, art, language, healthcare, any other kind of employment training procurement opportunities," Cook said.

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Elisa Campbell, a vice president at the Canada Lands Company, the arm of the federal government partnering with the three First Nations, called the Jericho and Heather Street Lands projects "transformational" and "globally exceptional."

"These are not just properties, these are communities that are in the broader context of a city," Campbell told Business Insider. "These are city-building moments."

But the pre-construction approval process has been slow because the land isn't First Nations reserve land, and is subject to all of the government's land-use regulations. Heather Lands has been underway for a decade already and the project still isn't done with the municipal approvals process. Jericho Lands is expected to take between 20 and 30 years to complete.

The housing projects aren't the only major developments underway on indigenous land in Canada. Just off the coast of Vancouver, the Malahat First Nation is building a 100,000-square-foot battery plant in partnership with the company Energy Plug Technologies on the Nation's land. The factory will create in-demand lithium-iron-phosphate battery storage and create about 100 new jobs.

NIMBY pushback

Of course, the housing developments have faced pushback from some community members. Sen̓áḵw survived a legal challenge last fall when a British Columbia Supreme Court judge rejected a claim that the local community wasn't sufficiently engaged in the planning process.

Some of the development's critics have attempted to weaponize Native American philosophy against it. In one case, former Vancouver city councilor Gordon Price argued that the First Nations cannot call themselves "land defenders" when they're building concrete high rises. "There's a big gap between that and an indigenous way of building," Price, who is not a member of the First Nations, told CBC Vancouver last year.

Supporters reject Price's argument, noting that building housing and sustainable communities are both in the best interests of the First Nations and the broader city. Bates College environmental studies professor Tyler Harper has called this tendency for non-indigenous Canadians and Americans to stereotype indigenous communities as conservationists "sentimental racism."

"Indigenous people are reduced to vehicles for timeless, pre-historical knowledge – wish fulfillment for white progressives dreaming of a prelapsarian age before capital and industry," he wrote recently on X.

"Canadians aren't used to seeing Indigenous people occupy places that are socially, economically or geographically valuable, like Sen̓áḵw," indigenous writer Michelle Cyca wrote recently in MacLean's. "It's remarkable because it's a restoration of our authority and presence in the heart of a Canadian city."

Could this kind of development happen in the US?

There are no housing or infrastructure developments on US tribal land that match the scale of the First Nations projects in Canada. While some Native American tribes have spearheaded significant housing projects , most indigenous-owned land in the US isn't in the most valuable housing markets. Other economic development efforts in the US have been largely focused on the gaming industry, including casinos .

"The big picture problem is that the legacy of Indian removal is that it forced so many tribes onto marginal land that they are excluded from some of the highest value areas of the country," Alex Armlovich, a senior housing-policy analyst at the Niskanen Center, told Business Insider.

Pro-housing and development advocates like Armlovich are "open-mouthed in awe of just what an incredible thing they're working on in Vancouver," Armlovich added.

Pro-housing advocates say economic development projects on Indian land are possible if local and state governments take action to restore ancestral land in cities to tribes that are interested in development, or otherwise work with Native American tribes to invest in industrial development.

"At a time when NIMBYism and permitting hangups are threatening America's push for green industrial policy, a win-win alliance with Native American tribes could be exactly what this nation needs," economist Noah Smith, wrote recently . "Instead of demanding Native Americans be guardians of a pastoral past, we could enlist their aid in leading us into a green technological future."

Housing developments are particularly attractive at a time when so many parts of the country are facing a shortage of homes and, as a result, skyrocketing housing costs.

"If a city wanted to get serious about land acknowledgments, and facilitate development, and house a tribe on its historic lands, that would be pretty incredible to do it in a way that's positive for everybody," Armlovich said.

Watch: Inside the most expensive neighborhoods of Singapore, home to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew

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Lisa's journalism career spans two decades, and she currently serves as the Americas Day Editor for the Global News Desk. She played a pivotal role in tracking the COVID pandemic and leading initiatives in speed, headline writing and multimedia. She has worked closely with the finance and company news teams on major stories, such as the departures of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and significant developments at Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla. Her dedication and hard work have been recognized with the 2010 Desk Editor of the Year award and a Journalist of the Year nomination in 2020. Lisa is passionate about visual and long-form storytelling. She holds a degree in both psychology and journalism from Penn State University.

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Sierra Leone Records Progress in Human Capital Development - But Requires Sustained Investments to Drive Economic Growth and Reduce Poverty

FREETOWN, March 25, 2024 – Sierra Leone has made commendable strides in improving human capital development with the government demonstrating a strong commitment to enhancing the well-being and productivity of its population through significant investments in health and education, according to a new World Bank report launched today in Freetown. The report also highlights the prioritization of social protection interventions like cash transfers to extremely vulnerable groups as a notable intervention aimed at reducing poverty and building human capital.

The Sierra Leone Human Capital Review: Maximizing Human Potential for Resilience and Inclusive Development , provides critical insights into the country's efforts to foster human capital development and economic growth. The report examines the current state of health, education, and social protection systems in the country and offers recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of human capital investments.

"The future socio-economic stability and prosperity of Sierra Leone is intrinsically linked to the well-being of its people," said Abdu Muwonge, World Bank Country Manager for Sierra Leone . "This report provides a roadmap for the government and its partners to strengthen human capital, which is essential for Sierra Leone to achieve its full economic potential and improve the livelihoods of its citizens."

‘Human Capital Development’ is the first Policy Cluster in the Government of Sierra Leone’s Medium-term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2019–2023 with increased financing of inputs in key human development sectors such as health and education. The new MTNDP (2024-2030) also prioritizes human capital development among its five key pillars, with food security as the main flagship. This increased commitment towards social sectors has resulted in improvements in health and education outcomes. For example, maternal and under-5 mortality rates, adult survival rates, as well as expected years of schooling have all improved since 2005. The Free Quality Education, launched in 2018, helped to reduce barriers to accessing education with the Education Sector Plan (2022–2026) laying out the core priorities and presenting a road map to achieving the country’s education goals. There have also been improvements in social protection coverage – the flagship social protection initiative, ‘Ep Fet Po’ cash transfer program, financed through the World Bank-supported Social Safety Net (SSN) Project, provides direct financial support to the most vulnerable populations, thereby contributing to the development of a more resilient and capable workforce.

However, Sierra Leone still faces challenges related to low human development outcomes, high poverty rates, and limited access to basic services, the report notes. The country ranks 151 out of 157 countries on the Human Capital Index (HCI). The HCI value is lower than the region’s average, indicating significant challenges in human capital development. The report highlights that only around two-thirds of today’s 15-year-olds can be expected to survive to the age of 60, and about one-quarter of the country’s children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition. Additionally, the HCI measure predicts that a child born today in Sierra Leone can be expected to be only 35% as productive when he or she grows up as the child could have been if he or she had enjoyed complete education and full health.

"The government of Sierra Leone has demonstrated a strong commitment to human capital. This report makes the case that one of the best investments a country can make is investing in its people,” said Ali Ansari, World Bank Senior Economist and one of the lead authors of the report. "A healthy, educated and skilled population is the cornerstone of Sierra Leone's journey towards a resilient, prosperous and inclusive future."

As policy priorities over the short to medium-term, the report emphasizes the need to: (i) prioritize investments in high-impact interventions for foundational learning, health, youth skills and employability; (ii) improve workforce management; (iii) prioritize investments in ensuring a minimum social protection floor for Sierra Leone; (iv) strengthen governance and implementation capacity; and (v) improve national and local level coordination in human capital development. The report also identifies several cross-cutting areas that should be prioritized, including: (i) building resilient and adaptive human development systems; (ii) improving food security; (iii) leveraging technology to enhance service delivery; and (iv) targeting human capital interventions to vulnerable groups, especially adolescent girls, women, youth and the poorest.

The Sierra Leone Human Capital Review is part of the World Bank's broader commitment to supporting countries in their efforts to build strong human capital as a foundation for inclusive growth. This is in line with WBG’s vision of creating a world free of poverty on a livable planet. The report's findings will serve as a valuable resource for policymakers, development partners, and stakeholders working towards a prosperous future for Sierra Leone.

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