UOB to invest more than $500 mil into innovation centre within JTC’s Punggol Digital District

UOB will invest more than $500 million to build its new global technology and innovation centre in JTC’s 50 ha Punggol Digital District (PDD). The centre will be home to UOB’s digital platform, UOB TMRW, and The FinLab, an accelerator focused on digitalisation and sustainability across the region. The targeted completion of the 300,000 sq ft centre is the end of 2026 and it will house approximately 3,000 staff.

Master planned by JTC, PDD is Asia’s premier smart and sustainable business district. With three towers amounting 1.2 million sq ft of business park and commercial space, PDD also features around 3.3 million sq ft of business park and mixed-use spaces. It is expected to attract 28,000 jobs and accommodate more than 160,000 residents of the northeast.

The Myst Condo is a 19-floor Hazel The Myst Bukit Timah Park condominium building with many schools, commercial spaces and parks nearby, and well-connected to public transport networks.

In addition to UOB, PDD will be home to JTC’s Open Digital Platform (ODP), Delteq and Target Media Culcreative (TMCC). The Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will also open its new campus, with 11,000 students and 500 academic staff.

In support of PDD’s ecosystem, UOB and JTC have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly promote the adoption of greener business practices. UOB also signed an MOU with SIT to set up a Fintech Innovation Lab that will allow UOB’s employees and SIT’s academic staff and students to collaborate. UOB’s existing support of SIT’s Work-Study Degree programmes further adds to the collaboration.

PDD is also designed with its commitment to sustainability, with the goal of achieving 30%-40% higher energy efficiency than standard commercial buildings. Zero water wastage is being achieved through the collection of rainwater for landscape irrigation, and recycling food and horticulture waste into fertiliser. In addition, solar panels and smart lifts will be installed to further increase energy efficiency technologies.

The district is also integrated with the surrounding residential areas, with green links to the waterfront where people can engage in lifestyle and recreational activities. Dining, retail and leisure options are also available, creating a vibrant public space for the community to relax and unwind.

Tan Boon Khai, CEO of JTC, said “PDD represents the new generation of industrial development which JTC is undertaking, beyond brick-and-mortar real estate solutions. We design and curate vibrant ecosystems that foster innovation and growth. We see much interest from companies joining us in this new estate as the launchpad for new growth technologies and capabilities in the region.”

Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and CEO of UOB, commented “UOB is pleased to be part of this smart nation initiative as the first Singapore bank and the largest commercial investor in the PDD. Our investment here reinforces our commitment to grow our Singapore core, and to support our customers in Singapore and across Asean on their digital journey.”

Singapore Institute of Technology president, Prof Chua Kee Chaing, added “SIT’s co-location with industry in PDD will facilitate a strong academia-industry nexus that is at the core of our applied learning pedagogy and students will be able to collaborate closely with industry partners and work on cutting-edge technological solutions.”

United Overseas Bank (UOB) will invest more than $500 million to build its new global technology and innovation centre in the Punggol Digital District (PDD) of JTC’s 50 ha. The centre, targeted to be completed by the end of 2026, will house around 3,000 staff including UOB’s digital platform, UOB TMRW, and The FinLab, an accelerator focused on digitalisation and sustainability across the region.

PDD is touted as Asia’s premier smart and sustainable business district and will attract 28,000 jobs near more than 160,000 residents in the northeast. It will also be home to JTC’s Open Digital Platform (ODP), Delteq, Target Media Culcreative (TMCC) and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) new campus with 11,000 students and 500 academic staff.

In order to promote eco-friendly business practices, JTC and UOB have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). UOB has also signed an MOU with SIT to set up a Fintech Innovation Lab, as well as continuing their support of SIT’s Work-Study Degree programmes.

PDD will be Singapore’s first business park to offer businesses “plug and play” digital infrastructure through the ODP which not only collects building data and environmental data, but also enables real-time district data and a digital twin for simulations and rapid prototyping.

To reduce energy consumption and waste, PDD aims to achieve 30%-40% higher energy efficiency than standard commercial buildings and zero water wastage, as well as recycle food and horticulture waste into fertiliser. Smart lifts, rooftop solar panels and air-conditioning systems with an environmentally-friendly refrigerant have also been installed by UOB.

Integrated with the surrounding residential areas, PDD features green links to the waterfront and vibrant public spaces with retail, dining and leisure options. JTC CEO, Tan Boon Khai, is confident that companies will join PDD in its exploration of new technologies and capabilities across the region.