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.