JTC looking into radical ways to optimise land use in Singapore

Use of mega-hoist and 'plug-and-play factory' being studied by JTC
Harsha Mohan, Straits Times 5 Jan 10;

JTC is looking to overcome Singapore's chronic land shortage problem by using two radical land-optimisation concepts.

The industrial land agency has come up with what it terms the 'cluster industrial complex with mega-hoist', and the 'plug-and-play factory'.

The first proposes the use of mega-hoists - commonly used in port operations - which would permit containers to be hoisted from ground level to the 'doorstep' of each floor of a complex and eliminate the need for ramps.

This mechanism is better equipped for multi-storey buildings and enables JTC to consider constructing taller ones on a plot of land, reducing land usage by 0.5ha.

JTC's existing pioneering stack-up facility, Woodlands Spectrum, has a plot ratio (the gross floor area of a building divided by the site area) of 2.04, but a mega-hoist in a stack-up facility would take this ratio to 2.5.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak described the concept as 'radical' but not necessarily without problems. 'With many small users, there might be a long queue for the hoist during certain peak hours, resulting in a bottleneck,' he said.

Savills' director of industrial services Dominic Peters expressed similar concerns. 'Given time taken with a hoist, it may not be as productive as a typical ramp.'

The second concept, the plug-and-play factory, is designed for industries such as oil, gaS and aerospace, where operations cannot be conducted in multi-stacked facilities.

It greatly reduces the quantity of land used for an industrial development via the use of shared services and what is called co-location.

Companies have to share a centralised 'backbone' that comprises warehousing and logistic facilities, as well as a workers' dormitory.

Factories are located alongside, with each plugging into the backbone's services. Such an integrated facility would enable more factories to be built on a smaller piece of land, with land use cut by 35 per cent.

Mr Peters added that 'stand-alone facilities are important due to business secrecy' and confidentiality, and competition may not favour co-locating.

It is thought that the centralised housing for foreign workers envisaged by the approach may provide a solution to the ongoing problem of finding suitable accommodation for migrant workers.

JTC is currently conducting a feasibility study of the two concepts, which it expects to conclude by the end of the year. Ms Josephine Loke, director of land planning at JTC, said that the key is ensuring operating costs did not increase for industrialists.

She disclosed that the techniques would most likely be tested in Jurong first and, if successful, then rolled out to industrial areas in the east.