JTC’s next-gen estate signals Singapore’s push to lead in advanced manufacturing

it completed Bulim Square

– a development comprising four blocks of five- and six-storey buildings that offer over 110,000 sq m of ready, sustainable factory space to the advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

“It is not just the space, it is really putting them (companies) into an ecosystem where they have access to a value chain – from suppliers to research and to talent,” Ms Christine Wong, JTC’s assistant chief executive officer, told The Straits Times in an interview.

Companies moving into Bulim Square will find physical proximity to research institutes, capabilities developers, technology and training providers across the five JID precincts, she said.

They will also have access to a 32,000-strong pool of science, technology, engineering and mathematics talent from Nanyang Technological University and a growing number of start-ups.

“The idea for JID is actually to integrate research solutions, technology solutions providers and manufacturing, all in one location.”

However, the concept of Bulim Square is a bit more nuanced, said Ms Wong.

“Typically, across JTC’s history of providing infrastructure, we always make sure that there is both land and space. Land for larger companies that want to build their customised facilities, such as chipmakers in the four wafer parks we operate,” she said.

“But there are also companies that come in and want the plug-and-play solution. They want to start within six months. So, we need to build a space that is fit for purpose.”

This is what Bulim Square is about.

Ms Wong said that compared with typical industrial buildings, Bulim Square has more advanced specifications, such as higher ceilings, wider corridors, and larger and heavier lifts for loading.

This helps companies that need to move heavy machinery in and out fast and to reconfigure the floor plan to accommodate the next equipment they are bringing in for testing, for example.

Bulim Square will be connected to JID’s unique logistics network – unlike other industrial parks, most of the heavy traffic across JID will be underground.

This will be Singapore’s first dedicated underground district logistics network, which will be developed to increase the efficiency of goods movement while freeing up spaces above ground for business and community use.

The first phase of the network was completed in January 2025, and phase two is targeted for completion in 2029.

The space freed up on the ground will feature an 11km Sky Corridor for pedestrians, cyclists and autonomously driven shuttles.

At Bulim, and across JID, companies can leverage support from synergistic partners to exchange knowledge and tap resource-sharing platforms to expedite their technology adoption and enhance capability development.

The tenants will be supported by the Ecosystem Partnership Incentive – a government initiative aimed at accelerating advanced manufacturing clustering and strengthening supply chains in JID.

They can partner A*STAR’s research institutes in JID, such as the A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, A*STAR Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre, and A*STAR National Metrology Centre.

A Digital Design Innovation Centre, supported by the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster, will help companies digitalise their manufacturing supply chain by developing digital inventories for physical spare parts and cost-effective parts for additive manufacturing.

Early entrants at Bulim Square include Meridionale Impianti – an Italian engineering firm that provides services for designing, building and maintaining complex systems at major semiconductor plants worldwide; and KY Sub-Assembly Engineering, a home-grown precision engineering specialist that serves multinational corporations across the island such as Halliburton, Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney.

The larger JID ecosystem houses companies such as Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore and Japan’s high-performance bicycle component maker Shimano.

On competition for high-tech investments, Ms Wong said cost cannot be Singapore’s main competitive advantage.

“But what we have here – the innovation ecosystem, the research institutes – I don’t think you can really find it elsewhere across South-east Asia.”

And on how JTC fits into this, Ms Wong said: “Ultimately, our role is to build and curate an enabling ecosystem that helps companies connect with the right partners quickly.

“By integrating research, capability developers, solutions providers and manufacturing together in JID, we will help firms shorten their development cycles and scale their operations with greater certainty.”