JTC Doubles One-North Start-up Space to 2.5 Plot Ratio as AI Park Targets 2028
Updated
Updated · The Straits Times · Aug 12
JTC Doubles One-North Start-up Space to 2.5 Plot Ratio as AI Park Targets 2028
1 articles · Updated · The Straits Times · Aug 12
Summary
LaunchPad @ One-North’s 9.82ha estate will be rezoned into a unified business park, lifting its gross plot ratio to 2.5 from just over 1.0 and effectively doubling space for start-up facilities.
JTC said the added capacity will support a full rejuvenation of LaunchPad, including adaptive reuse of two flatted factories for Kampong AI and new event, sports, networking and food-and-beverage spaces with better covered links.
A July 29 tender for Kampong AI’s 14,500 sq m AI block is already under way and will not be affected by the zoning change; the block is designed for up to 70 companies, with the tender closing on Aug. 24.
Separate tenders for an accommodation block and wider estate improvements will follow progressively, with Kampong AI slated for completion by 2028.
The overhaul extends Singapore’s broader push to back tech firms after a S$1 billion Startup SG Equity top-up, as the country’s ecosystem ranks fourth globally and includes more than 4,500 tech start-ups.
With over 200 new residential units planned, could Singapore's ambitious AI hub inadvertently trigger a localized real estate squeeze for early-stage founders?
Will doubling LaunchPad's density create a thriving AI utopia, or risk destroying the grassroots startup culture that fueled its original success?