United Overseas Bank (UOB) announced on April 18 that it will invest more than $500 million to build its new global technology and innovation centre in the Punggol Digital District (PDD) of the 50 hectare location managed by JTC. The PDD is touted as Asia’s premier smart and sustainable business district.

The centre, targeted to be completed by the end of 2026, will house around 3,000 staff in 300,000 sq ft of space, to become home to UOB’s digital platform, UOB TMRW, and The FinLab, an accelerator focused on digitalisation and sustainability across the region.

With continued demand, JTC initiated the second phase of development in the area, introducing three new business park towers comprising 1.2 million sq ft of business park and commercial space.

Joining UOB in PDD’s ecosystem are local systems integrator Delteq and digital media agency Target Media Culcreative (TMCC). Also located in the area is the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)’s new campus, expecting 11,000 students and 500 academic staff to populate the area.

UOB has signed two separate MOUs to foster collaboration and growth in the district. The first MOU was jointly signed with JTC to promote the adoption of greener business practices by local industrialists in the second half of 2023. The other was signed with SIT in order to set up a Fintech Innovation Lab in their upcoming Punggol campus. This joint lab will allow UOB’s employees and SIT’s academic staff and students to collaborate.

Focused on sustainability, the district is aiming to achieve 30% to 40% higher energy efficiency than standard commercial buildings, with the installation of smart lifts to minimise energy use, rooftop solar panels, air-conditioning systems with an environmentally-friendly refrigerant and more. UOB is also exploring alternative cooling solutions and a direct current distribution system to further reduce energy consumption.

CLD is set to demolish the Jurong East JCube complex in August 2022 to make way for the JCube Condo Residence, a 40-storey mixed-use development in the Jurong Lake District expected to launch in 2023. JCube Condo Residence will include private residences, JCube Residence commercial space and amenities such as public libraries and community clubs.

The Open Digital Platform (ODP) operated by JTC will offer businesses “plug and play” digital infrastructure, by collecting building and environmental data and allowing companies, students and the public to use it.To top it off, the district will have green links to the waterfront and vibrant public spaces with retail, dining and leisure options.

Tan Boon Khai, CEO of JTC, says that PDD is “the new generation of industrial development which JTC is undertaking, beyond brick-and-mortar real estate solutions, for industrialists and partners alike”.

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO of UOB, expressed his excitement to be part of this smart nation initiative as the first Singapore bank and largest commercial investor in the PDD.

SIT president Prof Chua Kee Chaing sees PDD as “the launchpad for new growth technologies and capabilities in the region”, with the academy and industry co-locating and working on cutting-edge technological solutions.

PDD is expected to open progressively from 2024 and create 28,000 jobs near more than 160,000 residents in the northeast. UOB’s new global technology and innovation centre is part of this amazing joint effort to bring about a vibrant and innovative community that strives for sustainability.