Fusionpolis to be a physical sciences ‘icon’
FUSIONPOLIS is set to become the icon for physical science research in Singapore, just like the Biopolis is for biomedical research.
When completed by end-2008, the $500-700 million complex, next to the Insead Asia campus at Ayer Rajah, will be the only science facility in the world integrated with a train station.
‘The purpose of building the Fusionpolis and the infrastructure, relocating all the institutes there, is really to provide the icon for physical sciences,’ said Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) chairman Philip Yeo. ‘With that facility, phase one and two, we should be able to attract bright young people, both locally and abroad, to come into physical sciences and engineering.’
Comprising two towers and a podium, phase one of the Fusionpolis project is expected to be completed by the middle of next year. It will have 1.2 million sq ft of space on 1.2 ha of land. According to developer JTC Corp, about 60 per cent of the space has been taken up, mainly by four public research institutes under A*Star’s Science and Engineering Research Council.
The complex, designed by renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, is positioned to be the epicentre of the infocommunications technology and media industries. Like Biopolis, it boasts shared facilities including seminar rooms and production studios, and features satellite access, a roof-top swimming pool, service apartments and other amenities. With a capacity for 3,000-5,000 people, it will be linked to Biopolis by road and a shuttle service, facilitating interaction among researchers from both hubs.
‘So if you look at Biopolis and Fusionpolis, eventually, when they are fully developed, we are talking about 10,000 people here,’ said Mr Yeo. ‘Of which, more than half - probably two-thirds - are doctors, PhDs and specialists. It’s a very major investment.’
The project will be key to developing research expertise in physical sciences, which will be A*Star’s focus over the next five years. While Singapore has drawn a reasonable talent pool in biomedical research in the past five years, Mr Yeo reckons that there is plenty of room for improvement in the physical science area, which encompasses IT and engineering fields.
‘We need good engineering students to take up graduate studies and come into research, so that we can use that to upgrade our manufacturing sector,’ he said. ‘Our manufacturing sector cannot depend on just low-cost labour, low-cost inputs to sustain ourselves. The trick for Singapore is to push up the ladder . . . develop new products, create new products - intellectual property especially - as physical sciences become imperative.’
Source : Business Times - 28 Jan 2006
Loading ...
Post a Comment
Tell me a bit about yourself; who you are, where you're from, what information you would like to see on this site. As I continue to provide you with Singapore property happenings, your feedback will encourage me to post more frequently. Thank you.