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JTC reviewing self-storage operators’ use of industrial space

Chong Xin Wei

Published Tue, Mar 7, 2023 · 05:44 PM

JTC Corporation has started a review of the self-storage industry, which some players said could throw a spanner in the works for their expansion plans.

Responding to queries from The Business Times (BT), JTC said: “In view of increasing demand from self-storage players to operate in industrial spaces, we are conducting a review to ascertain the impact on our industrial estates.”

Tricia Song, head of research in South-east Asia at CBRE, said JTC industrial land is primarily meant for manufacturing activities or business-to-business purposes, while self-storage runs on a business-to-consumer model, which “can or should be seen as a retail or commercial activity”.

Self-storage operators told BT that the statutory board had started looking into the industry in 2021, but that no action had been taken against them thus far. They added that they were verbally informed …