Toll Group plans S$228m logistics facility near future Tuas port

AUSTRALIAN logistics giant Toll is planning a S$228 million high-tech logistics facility in Tuas in a bid to get a slice of the future container traffic from the upcoming mega container port to be built in the area.

The five-storey, 100,000 sq m Toll City hub will be completed in mid-2017, Toll Global Logistics chief executive Chris Pearce told a ground-breaking ceremony held at the Gul Crescent site on Monday.

It will be 5 km away from the site of the upcoming Tuas seaport, the group said in a statement.

Mr Pearce told reporters at the sidelines that the new facility would use more automation to cut down its reliance on labour and that Toll was "in a lot of discussions with a lot of customers" about signing them on.

A facility of this size might usually require 300 to 500 workers, but with high levels of technology the number could be brought down by around 40 per cent, he said.

He added that the group was "not in a hurry to get rid" of facilities it already owns in Singapore and is planning to upgrade them. The company employs about 1,000 people here.