Mah Bow Tan-led Therme Singapore breaks ground on wellness facility with thermal baths, spas

[SINGAPORE] European thermal bath operator Therme Group on Friday (Jun 19) broke ground on its first project in Asia and signed an agreement to develop the local workforce, with its regional headquarters to be set up here.

Construction on the destination is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year.

Former minister Mah Bow Tan, chairman of the group’s Singapore arm, said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the new facility has been almost 10 years in the making.

The S$1 billion development at Marina South will be Singapore’s first dedicated wellness attraction and Asia’s first “large-scale thermal wellness destination”, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.

Due to open in 2030, it will span over 720,000 square feet – or about nine football fields – across seven levels, with more than 20 pools and water attractions, as well as over 70 wellness treatment rooms.

With the global wellness economy reaching US$6.8 trillion in 2024 and expected to hit US$9.8 trillion by 2029, Singapore is “responding to this shift”, said Fu, who is also Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations.

Wellness tourism is a key growth area in Singapore’s Tourism 2040 strategy, as part of a move towards higher-value tourism, she noted.

“Therme Singapore will be a significant addition to Singapore’s vibrant attractions landscape,” she added, adding that it will also strengthen the city’s position as a hub for tourism, wellness and urban innovation.

At full capacity, the new facility will be able to accommodate two million visitors annually, with half expected to be international visitors.

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Therme Group is also establishing its regional headquarters in Singapore to oversee projects across Asia.

Local impact

Fu said that Therme’s investment will create meaningful career opportunities for Singaporeans in engineering, operations, hospitality and wellness services.

The facility is expected to create about 400 jobs in areas such as construction, engineering, facilities management, operations and hospitality. It will also develop specialised roles such as sauna masters, known as “Aufgussmeisters”.

To support workforce development, Therme Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding with the Institute of Technical Education and Republic Polytechnic.

The agreement covers efforts in skills development, innovation projects, internships and employment pathways for graduates.

Therme Group focuses on opening facilities in cities, said founder and CEO Robert Hanea.

Amid urbanisation, cities are “places where the greatest pressure is felt, but also they are places that hold great promise for meaningful change”, he said.

“Singapore is the natural first home for Therme in Asia,” he added.

He also noted the country’s “long-term, deliberate and transparent approach to taking care of people” and the national conversation around health, ageing and longevity, even as it is a hub for the world.

Therme Singapore will support the country’s tourism landscape not purely on its own, but by complementing the Republic’s meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions, lifestyle and urban tourism offerings, he said.

It will also reinforce Singapore’s position as a launchpad for new ideas for Asia, he added.

Years in the making

Therme Singapore’s journey began almost 10 years ago, said Mah, who is chairman of Therme Group Asia and Singapore.

He recalled that he had “struggled to understand” Dr Hanea’s proposal for a large-scale wellness destination in Marina Bay, and believed that the government would not support this.

After Mah initially declined to be involved, Dr Hanea returned a year later with the same proposition. The former minister decided to experience Therme’s facilities for himself – and was convinced.

The team began engaging the authorities, though it was not easy to explain the concept. “It was a new kind of social well-being destination that really needed to be experienced to be fully understood.”

It was also a challenge to secure land in the heart of the city. But Dr Hanea insisted on Marina Bay, Mah said.

“His premise was simple, yet powerful: Well-being cannot be exclusive or distant. It must be embedded in the city.”

Mah laid out three things that Therme Singapore must get right.

First, it must be beautiful and iconic, to bring people back again and again. The facility is being developed in partnership with Kajima Overseas Asia (Singapore) and designed by multinational architecture firm DP Architects, in collaboration with Therme Group’s in-house architects.

Second, it must be inclusive in pricing, programming and design.

“We will look at customised packages and programmes for different groups, from heartlanders to families, including those with special needs,” said Mah.

Finally, “it must be distinctively Singaporean – not just another successful concept imported from overseas”.

This means responding to the country’s climate, culture, food, traditions, and lifestyle.

In an earlier interview with The Business Times in Bucharest, Therme Group wellness director Cosmin Ciric emphasised the importance of “glocalisation”.

The Bucharest facility, for example, houses a salt sauna in a nod to Romania’s salt mines, but also because the city is polluted and salt therapies help to “cleanse and relax and regenerate the lungs”, he said.

Some things are kept consistent across locations, such as the technology used to clean the air and treat the water.

But the group also researches each location’s deficiencies and needs – such as heart-related issues and skin health – as well as environmental conditions, such as humidity.

The new addition

The upcoming Singapore location joins Therme Group’s existing European facilities: its Bucharest flagship in Romania and four others in Germany.

Other developments are under way in Manchester, Frankfurt, Toronto, Washington DC, Dallas, South Korea and Dubai.

Occupying the 4-hectare waterfront Marina South Coastal site, next to Marina Barrage and Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore project will have three zones, known as Play, Relax and Restore.

Family-focused Play will feature 18 waterslides with a combined length of about 1.8 kilometres, a wave pool, indoor and outdoor recreational pools, and relaxation spaces.

The landscaped Relax zone will have relaxation pools, mineral pools and lounging spaces.

Finally, the Restore zone will focus on wellness and treatment, with sauna and steam rooms, massages and cold plunge pools.

The site will also have about 86,000 square feet of F&B offerings.

Indoor air temperatures will be controlled at about 30 degrees Celsius, and pool temperatures set at about 32 deg C. Humidity and airflow will be regulated.