Punggol Digital District takes shape, with two-thirds of space pre-committed
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SINGAPORE – Two-thirds of the built-up space in Punggol Digital District (PDD)
The incoming tenants largely hail from four sectors: cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, fintech, and smart living.
The largest commercial tenant is lender UOB, which has invested $500 million in a 12-storey building in the business park.
Others include AI and robotics firm dConstruct Technologies, systems integrator Delteq, blockchain solutions provider Wanxiang Singapore and the Association of Information Security Professionals.
Their public-sector neighbours include government-linked entities such as the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore and the Government Technology Agency.
JTC said: “We are in advanced negotiations with other prospective tenants.”
One of the new tenants is three-year-old start-up dConstruct, which is leasing an entire floor in the 10-storey building above the train station.
Chief executive Lim Chinn said the company is on a growth track. It employs 30 staff now, but the figure is expected to grow to 80 by December and more than 200 by the end of 2025.
Mr Lim said the location is attractive as it is future-inspired, with good work-life integration and opportunities to collaborate with academia and other tenants in similar industries nearby.
“The key appeal is the vibe, this idea of innovation that is underpinned by the smart infrastructure,” he added.
Meanwhile, UOB plans to use its upcoming 300,000 sq ft tower block as its technology and innovation centre when it is ready by the second half of 2026.
Mr Marcus Lai, its head of corporate real estate services, said: “It will be our next innovation lab, where new products and features will be ideated, developed, piloted and eventually rolled out to the bank’s key markets in the region.”
The building will be home to about 3,000 staff in technology, innovation and digital roles, and will include the bank’s innovation accelerator, UOB FinLab.
Overall, most of the PDD’s buildings, which are meant for office and business park use, are expected to receive their temporary occupation permits between 2024 and 2025.
Among its features is a 1.6km walkway that snakes through every building in the district on the fifth floor.
Roads surrounding the hub above the Punggol Coast MRT station will be tucked underground, while the area above ground is meant for pedestrians and cyclists.
Carparks will be shared between business park tenants and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to reduce traffic density.
Parking spaces will be cut by half from the prescribed number to 1,200. Of these, 151 will have fast and slow chargers for electric vehicles – the most in any one location in Singapore. There will also be 1,500 bicycle spaces, as well as showers and lockers.
A 290,600 sq ft retail podium will stretch across the first and second storeys of three buildings in Campus Boulevard. This will house shops, food and beverage (F&B) outlets and the Market Village next to the waterfront.
The Market Village will consist of four standalone, single-storey buildings that will be completed by January 2025. It will add more F&B space, with the buildings – each measuring up to 5,800 sq ft – spilling over to outdoor seating areas.
There will also be community facilities in the various buildings. These include three childcare centres with capacity for 1,000 children, a 700-seat hawker centre and a community club.
Separately, SIT’s new campus will provide students with a sense of identity, as they are now scattered across the island in a handful of polytechnics and Singapore Institute of Technology’s campus.
The PDD is expected to generate 28,000 high-tech jobs and accommodate 12,000 SIT students.
Correction note: An earlier version of the story said students are now scattered in a handful of polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education campuses across the island. This has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.
