S'pore plans Mega Exhibition Center
S'pore plans Mega Exhibition Center
SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore named an Australian consultancy yesterday to help develop Southeast Asia's biggest exhibition center amid increasing competition from neighbors to host regional trade shows.
Trade and Industry Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said Cox Richardson Rayner would be the consultants for the ultra-modern 100,000- square-meter (1.07 million-square-foot) "Mega Exhibition Center."
Excluding the price of land, the first phase of the government-backed project covering 60,000 square meters (645,600 square feet) of exhibition space will cost S$150 million Singapore (US$107 million). The first phase will be completed by early 1999.
"As the consultant, Cox will be responsible for conceptualizing an overall master plan for the exhibition site and designing the exhibition center," Yeo told reporters.
The firm has completed major exhibition centers in Australian cities such as Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Cairns and has been a key adviser to international centers elsewhere.
Yeo said Cox Richardson Rayner were chosen from among six international consultants who had been invited to submit proposals for the development of the center. The others were not named.
"One of the main criteria in our evaluation was the requirement for maximum flexibility and functionality," the minister said. "This is to allow shorter turnaround time for our exhibitors and also easy configuration of space to suit different needs," Yeo said.
He added that the firm's design "stands out in these areas, particularly as it has also factored in our tropical climate."
The center will be located in the vicinity of the airport, major expressways and a planned underground railway station, and would be a suitable venue for consumer as well as specialized trade shows, Yeo said.
Singapore is a leading regional exhibition center, hosting 19 of the 47 fairs in the Asia-Pacific which are endorsed by the Paris-based Union des Foires, an international exhibition body.
Neighbors such as Malaysia and Thailand are positioning themselves to compete with Singapore to host trade shows as large international exhibition organizers seek to capitalize on robust economic growth in East Asia.
"This advanced facility will help maintain Singapore as the regional exhibition capital," Yeo said, adding he was confident that growing demand would lead to a high utilization rate despite increasing competition.
Singapore currently has 68,500 square meters (737,060 square feet) of exhibition space. This will be reduced to 58,900 square meters (633,764 square feet) by 1998 due to the closure of a part of the World Trade Center to allow the construction of an underground railway line.