SPEECH BY
MR LIM HNG KIANG, MINISTER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE
GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY OF FUSIONOPOLIS PHASE 2A SITE, AYER RAJAH
AVENUE ON WEDNESDAY 6 DECEMBER 2006 AT 11.05
AM
Friends, Ladies and
Gentleman
Good morning.
I am delighted to join all of you this morning for the
groundbreaking of Fusionopolis Phase 2A at
one-north.
Fusionopolis
is Singapore’s
focal point for the Physical Sciences and Engineering.Masterplanned
and developed by JTC, it will be a place where the
world’s talent, international setups and the local technology
community can come together to create new ideas, innovations and
breakthroughs to create future industries, generate employment and
help put Singapore on the world Science
map.
When fully completed, Fusionopolis will cover some 30
hectares and be a Science and Technology powerhouse with integrated
capabilities from the six research institutes (RIs) of A*STAR’s Science and Engineering
Research Council or SERC for short. A key feature of
Fusionopolis is the co-location of private and public sector
research labs, allowing private industries and
public research institutes to work together to foster innovation,
experimentation and collaboration in a vibrant R&D
environment.
This strategy
of co-location was first pioneered with much success in Biopolis.
Exactly five years ago, JTC broke ground for the development of
Biopolis – the first key development in one-north.Today, Biopolis
is a vibrant cluster of nine state-of-the-art buildings and has
attracted international scientists and biomedical companies to
conduct cutting edge research in Singapore.
Fusionopolis has met with a similar good response.A*STAR,
JTC, EDB, and MDA, with their parent ministries, MTI and MICA, have
jointly developed the positioning and marketing of
Fusionopolis.Fusionopolis Phase 1, which is the development you see
on your way in, is almost fully taken up.The strong demand for
space even before Phase 1 has been completed has encouraged JTC to
embark on Phase 2A.
The development of Fusionopolis Phase 2B, which will be
adjacent to Phase 2A (where we are now), will be earmarked for
industry tenants. JTC will invite private developers to develop
Fusionopolis Phase 2B.I understand that there have already been
many enquiries from industry regarding about space availability in
Fusionopolis.
A*STAR as anchor tenant at Fusionopolis Phase
2A
The
S$250 million Phase 2A development will house state-of-the-art
interdisciplinary labs and facilities for A*STAR’s Science and
Engineering research institutes.
These facilities will be available for
companies to tap into, enabling them to springboard to a much
higher level of R&D while reducing their need for heavy
investment in equipment or facilities. There are many industry guests in our midst
today. I strongly encourage you to leverage on the technology
platforms and the integrated expertise available from across
multiple research institutes.
Fusionopolis is
for Singapore’s
future
To evolve
Fusionopolis into a vibrant science city, JTC has plans to host
many supporting services with retail outlets and serviced
apartments. It will be home to industry researchers as well as some
1,200 SERC scientists, and more than 260 A*STAR SERC scholars who
will return from their PhD studies. Fusionopolis will thus be a
magnet for more talent, both local and foreign, to contribute to
the physical sciences and engineering scene in Singapore.
I am confident
that Fusionopolis will help to anchor high value economic
activities and contribute to the development of Singapore
as
a knowledge-intensive economy.I look forward to the success of
Fusionopolis as Singapore’s
physical sciences and engineering hub, and a cradle for knowledge
convergence where next generation applications are incubated and
test-bedded.
Thank you.