Taking Singapore’s commercial heart beyond the CBD – a mixed picture

FROM Tampines in the east to Jurong in the west, several “decentralised” commercial spaces across Singapore have sprung up over the years as part of government efforts to expand the city’s business ecosystem with job nodes across the island.

But the jury is still out on whether the push to move business activity outwards has been successful, said some real estate consultants and human resource management groups that spoke to The Business Times. 

In the past five years, much of Singapore’s decentralisation has been done through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, various incentive schemes and the government’s office strategy, said Edwin Loo, real estate consultancy Cistri’s associate director with an expertise in urban planning.