The shabby and rambling Defu Industrial Estate is all set to be transformed into a gleaming, modern industrial park – with five times the current factory space and a city centre by its side. The initial phase is expected to cost $1.3 billion.
The transformation will take place over the next 15-20 years, with existing factories progressively giving way to modern complexes. The estate itself will see landscaped greenery and environmentally sustainable features sprouting up. And while there could be tweaks along the way, the current plan is for six-storey buildings to rise in the new Defu Industrial Park.
There will be 3 key zones established within the Park. Northern and Central zones will be set aside for logistics, precision engineering, clean energy and biomedical, while the southern zone will be used to house the businesses already in teh estate.
The Defu City Centre, to be located beside Defu Industrial City in the new park, will provide the commercial buzz – including food-and-beverage outlets, convenience stores, medical clinics and childcare centres. This will be built after 2017, when the site is available for development.
Defu Industrial Estate is currently home to some 1,046 factories. It will be redeveloped in three phases from next year and the first phase is expected to be completed by mid-2017.
Source: The Straits Times 6 Dec 2012