JTC to plant more trees in Tuas to help companies cut energy costs

JTC Corporation will plant more trees in Tuas to help companies there cut energy costs, the company revealed at its tree-planting event at the Tuas Biomedical Park on Wednesday.

It said a joint study with the National University of Singapore showed that areas with more greenery experience cooler temperatures.

Shade from trees and rooftop greenery can bring down temperatures in buildings by nearly five degrees, which suggests that well-shaded buildings could see energy savings of more than 25 per cent.

JTC is now looking at planting trees at strategic locations in Tuas View as a pilot project. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 4 Jun 2008

CWT to sell Tanjong Penjuru warehousing hub for S$115.2m

Logistics service provider CWT on Tuesday said it has sold one of its warehousing hubs in the Jurong area for S$115.2 million.

No names were given, but CWT said the buyer is a property fund focused on the Asia-Pacific region.

Under the agreement, CWT will lease the premises back for five years initially, with an option to renew for another three years.

The company will realise a total gain of some S$85.7 million from the sale, based on the aggregate book value of the property of S$28.1 million and after accounting for the relevant costs to the sale.

The property, located at 46A Tanjong Penjuru, is currently used by CWT to provide warehousing facilities for its customers.

CWT said the sale and leaseback deal will help the company realise its investment while it continues to use the property for its existing operations.

The firm will use the proceeds to reduce its bank loans and fund its local and regional expansion.

It also intends to return a portion of the net proceeds to shareholders in the form of dividends or through a share buy-back scheme. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 3 Jun 2008

JTC to apply cost-savings features to attract more wafer fab plants

Industrial developer and landlord JTC Corporation is planning to build cost-savings features into upcoming wafer fab clusters to attract more such companies into Singapore.

It is looking at implementing a centralised power and water plant in each wafer fab cluster, which could help companies save hundreds of thousands of dollars in operational costs.

Wafer fab plants are heavy utility users.

Currently, each production plant has its very own power unit that provides clean chilled water, specialty gases and waste treatment for its operations.

Heah Sooh Poh, Director, Specialised Parks Development Group, JTC Corporation, said, “So if you have a park, and you have four or five companies, then you’ll have four or five such small little plants within the companies’ premises itself.”

To save space in land scare Singapore, JTC plans to centralise all such functions into a “Multi-Purpose Utilities Service Provision Model”.

What that means is sharing one common water and electricity generating unit among by all the wafer fab plants in one cluster.

JTC said the model is already implemented in petrochemical plants on Jurong Island, as in the biomedical industry.

It said the shared utilities plant would be outsourced to a third party provider, leaving companies to concentrate on wafer fab production.

The move is expected to help companies shave off more than 40 percent in overall utility costs – based on the savings by companies using a centralised cooling system.

Heah Sooh Poh said, “In terms of capital costs to the wafer fab companies, they do not have to put in the investment to build up such utility plants. The other one is really manpower costs, in terms of maintenance.

“The plant would be more competitive compared to those that don’t enjoy the savings. This would either translate into better margins for them. (Or) they could actually reduce the margins, and still make very good profits. So I think that’s the advantage to the wafer fab companies.”

JTC said it is already in discussions with upcoming wafer fab plants in Singapore on implementing the system.

It is expecting to call for tenders for a third party utilities and power provider before mid-2009.

JTC expects the application to be fully implemented in the next three years, starting with the North Coast Wafer Fab Park in Senoko.

There are plans to extend it to other wafer fab clusters like those in Woodlands, Pasir Ris and Tampines.

The latest plans come as JTC celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

There are currently 14 wafer fab plants in Singapore, about half of the 25 that the country targets to have. – CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Jun 2008

Soilbuild wins tender to build, own and operate stack-up factory

Niche property developer Soilbuild Group has won the tender to build, own and operate a stack-up factory in the Tuas area.

The award for the 5-hectare site at Tanjong Kling Industrial Estate was given out by JTC Corporation.

This is the first time that a stack-up factory development has been awarded to a private developer.

JTC said Soilbuild clinched the contract because its concept included enhanced features such as a basement carpark to segregate heavy and light vehicular traffic, and a layout that facilitates a smooth heavy vehicular movement within the building.

The new Tanjong Kling development, expected to be completed in early 2010, comes with a gross plot ratio of up to 2.5.

To meet the needs of the larger industrialists, the stipulated minimum floor area per unit for the development is 1,000 square metres.

The concept of stacking-up factories was first introduced eight years ago at Woodlands in a bid to optimise land use.

A robust growth in the manufacturing sector has fuelled an increase in demand for industrial space in the last three years. – CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Jun 2008

URA releases 2 sites at Woodlands, Kallang Pudding Road for sale

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has launched an industrial site at Woodlands Industrial Park E5 for sale by public tender.

The site has an area of 1.68 ha and is zoned for a Business 2 development. The tender for the site will close at noon on July 22.

The URA also released the detailed sales conditions for a reserve list site at Kallang Pudding Road for industrial development. The 0.57 ha site is zoned for a Business 1 development.

Businesses are grouped under Business 1 and Business 2 zones, according to their impact on the environment.

Under the government’s reserve list system, a site on the reserve list would only be put up for tender if a developer’s indicated minimum bid price in his application is acceptable by the government.

Both sites have a gross plot ratio of 2.5 and have a lease period of 60 years.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 27 May 2008

JTC achieves record occupancy level for ready-built facilities in Q1

JTC has achieved a record occupancy level for its ready-built facilities in the first quarter of 2008.

Net allocation was 38,400 square metres, six-fold higher than the same period last year.

In its quarterly report, JTC said this helped to boost the occupancy level for ready-built facilities by 1.3 percentage points to 93.9 percent.

Termination level, however, has gone up as well – to 51,100 square metres in the first quarter of this year, compared to 45,300 square metres in the first quarter of 2007.

However, the net allocation for prepared industrial land remained strong – at 114.9 hectares – due partly to the general expansion across the manufacturing sector for 2007.

Looking ahead, more ready-built spaces are expected to come on stream with Phase 2 construction of Fusionopolis, which is set to be completed by the third quarter of 2010. – CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Apr 2008

S$300m warehouse store Big Box to open in Jurong East by 2009

A S$300 million warehouse store will be open in Jurong East in the last quarter of 2009. The company behind the Big Box project, TT International, said the Jurong warehouse will be its flagship store.

Sitting on a 5.6-hectare site near the Jurong East MRT station, the outlet will be as big as 27 football fields put together with a total gross floor area of 120,000 square metres.

About 30 per cent of the space (34,000 square metres) will be set aside for retail, and the rest will be used for warehousing and offices.

The mega store will house a wide range of consumer electronics products, furniture and a hypermarket. It will also provide renovation and interior design services.

TT International said being mega will translate into savings for consumers.

Director of TT International Julia Tong-Sng explained: “We are an international trader, importer and distributor, so we have the advantage in costing.”

When completed, the Big Box outlet is expected to generate over 600 jobs, which the company said will mostly go to Singaporeans.

TT International added that it hopes to tap into the pool of people living in Jurong, including housewives and semi-retired individuals, to overcome the problem of manpower shortage.

Up to three million people are expected to visit the store each year. TT International said it plans to organise exhibitions and cultural shows to draw the crowds in.

The company also aims to work with SPRING Singapore and retail institutions to help HDB shops around the area level up.

Ms Tong-Sng said: “We intend to organise, at least twice a year, (an event) to provide free space for the HDB shop owners… to display their products and make some sales, so that they can also participate in this kind of big-box concept. At the same time, we will also work with SPRING to provide training.”

TT International, which has operations worldwide, also hopes to bring the concept of big-box store to Vietnam and Cambodia. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 7 Apr 2008

Mapletree buys industrial property from First Engineering Plastics

Mapletree Industrial Fund has bought an industrial property from First Engineering Plastics for nearly S$22 million.

The property comprises three buildings with a gross floor area of 14,387 square metres.

The land, which spans more than 10,000 square metres, is located in the established Woodlands East Industrial Estate.

First Engineering Plastics will lease back the premises following the sale.

The company makes high-precision moulds, plastic components and business machines for high-technology engineering applications.

It also offers an integrated suite of solutions for the hard disk drive, PC peripheral and automotive industries. – CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 31 Mar 2008

A-REIT buys light industrial property at Loyang Way for S$25m

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust (A-REIT) on Monday bought a light industrial property at Loyang Way for S$25 million.

It signed a put and call option agreement with Seow Khim Polythelene, a manufacturer of consumer plastic products.

Seow Khim will lease back the property for 12 years with stepped increases in rentals.

It also has an option to renew the lease for another three years. A-REIT said the acquisition will be positive for its distribution per unit.

The property at 8 Loyang Way 1 is located within the Loyang Industrial Estate and within a short driving distance to Changi Airport.

The property comprises two blocks of four-storey light industrial buildings on a land plot of 9,768 square metres.

The property has a gross floor area of 13,725 square metres and a net lettable area of 11,158 square metres.

Its lease expires on 16 July 2052. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Mar 2008

CWT opens two logistics hubs worth more than S$80m

Mainboard-listed logistics company, CWT, has opened two new logistics hubs in Singapore, expanding its warehouse space by one million sq ft.

The new facilities cost CWT more than S$80 million, but they are expected to help drive revenue up by some 10 percent. Most of the new space will be used to store chemicals, which will help boost CWT’s position in the sector.

Loi Pok Yen, Group CEO of CWT, said: “We are dominant in both chemicals and commodities logistics, and the main reason for this is because there are very few competitors. For chemical logistics companies, there are probably just five companies that are extremely good at doing this. For commodities, probably less than 15 companies worldwide.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the new facilities on Wednesday, Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang noted that there is pressure on third party logistics service providers (3PLs) like CWT to keep pace with industry demands.

Mr Lim said: “Manufacturers are outsourcing non-core activities such as warehousing and transportation to focus on their core competencies. This trend is set to continue. 3PLs need to quickly acquire new expertise to fully capture these opportunities. This is especially so for industries such as the chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors which require specialised handling and storage of hazardous, toxic and infectious goods.”

Other than the two new hubs, CWT is also planning for a new commodity hub in Penjuru.

“We’re going to continue investing in Singapore in a big way. Besides these two buildings that were recently completed, we have a new building that will be completed in April – that consists of two phases. So when we finish the entire building, which is about 2.34 million sq ft, that will be the largest building in Southeast Asia,” said Mr Loi.

CWT is seeking to expand in the region, particularly in Vietnam and China. It has earmarked some S$120 million for infrastructural developments in China over the next three to five years.

Last year, the logistics and supply chain management industry employed 180,000 people and accounted for 9.4 percent of Singapore’s GDP.

CWT has about 4,000 staff worldwide, of which 1,600 are in Singapore.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Mar 2008