Seletar air park catering to both old, new tenants

Source : The Business Times, May 5, 2008

Allocation of land to be done in phases as it becomes available, says JTC

The first phase of the development of the Seletar Aerospace Park (SAP) is on track and detailed plans are already in place to cater to the needs of both existing and new tenants.

JTC Corp, which is spearheading the redevelopment of the aerospace park together with the Economic Development Board (EDB), revealed this when it took BT on a tour of the facilities last week.

Seletar Aerospace Park is a 300 hectare development which will house a cluster of aerospace MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) players, design and manufacturing specialists, training campuses and aviation-related businesses. The existing runway - built by the British air force over half-a-century ago - is also being extended to cater to bigger business jets.

Much of the current work centres on the East Camp area, around the houses, hangars and offices around Old Birdcage Walk and areas adjacent to the east side of the runway. This is where companies like Fokker Services Asia, Hawker Pacific, Honeywell, Dassault Falcon, Executive Jets Asia and others are currently located. Soh Eng Chen of JTC Corp's Industrial Development Department, whose team is responsible for the SAP redevelopment, said most of the work on the first phase would be completed by the first half of 2009.

'The houses have been refurbished to cater to numerous business offices, while new hangars with runway access will be built for those who need them,' he said. He added that more land with runway access will be allotted in West Camp, where there will also be a multi-storey office complex for tenants. This building is expected to be occupied primarily by business jet operators, air charter companies and other aviation businesses.

Meanwhile, current East Camp tenants (who include players like Air Transport College, Execujet Asia and Life Support Equipment) will have to plan their move to new locations within the park. In all, excluding runway land, some 140 ha of industrial land has been set aside for businesses by JTC.

But Mr Soh said that while all tenants would have the opportunity to site themselves in new premises, land allocation would be done in phases as it becomes available. The challenge which JTC faces is that the area is not a greenfield development, and as such, it has to address the issue of relocating existing businesses and residents.

'Many of these companies are operating out of decades-old and dilapidated office structures,' said Mr Soh. The only existing tenants who will not move are ST Aerospace and Jet Aviation, both of whom have huge facilities at Seletar West Camp. Their current land use is deemed optimal. Mr Soh revealed that enquiries have been coming in from potential new tenants.

Meanwhile, two of the industry's most prominent players have already booked themselves in.

Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce broke ground on its $320 million Trent aero engine facility at the SAP, while engine maker Pratt & Whitney is building its new US$30 million, 105,000 sq ft facility in the park. Meanwhile, ST Aero is spending $17.3 million to build a two-bay hangar, while Jet Aviation's existing facility is also being extended.

In recent months, some existing tenants had expressed concerns about the availability of new premises and facilities amid the ongoing development. But JTC said it was addressing these concerns by engaging these operators and evaluating their needs.

The 10-year project - which is estimated to cost upwards of $60 million - is expected to provide a huge shot in the arm for Singapore's aviation sector ambitions. The park is also expected to create 10,000 jobs and contribute $3.3 billion annually to the economy when fully operational.