Signing Ceremony for Joint Venture Agreement on Formation of TeleTech Park

Mr Tan Guong Ching, Chairman Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS) Speech - Signing Ceremony for Joint Venture Agreement on Formation of TeleTech Park

Mr Tan Guong Ching, Chairman
Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS)
Speech - Signing Ceremony for Joint Venture Agreement on Formation of TeleTech Park
Singapore, 8 February 1994

On behalf of the joint venture partners, namely the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), Singapore Telecom Ltd, Technology Parks Pte Ltd and Singapore Technologies Ventures Pte Ltd, I thank you for your presence here this morning to witness the signing of the joint venture agreement.

The main mission of the new company which is to be called TeleTech Park Pte Ltd, is to develop and operate the Telecommunication Technology Park, or TeleTech Park for short. This is an ambitious new development to attract telecommunication and information technology companies to conduct research and development in Singapore.

Singapore Telecom will hold the largest stake of 40% in the new company. Technology Parks and Singapore Technologies Ventures will each hold 25%. TAS, through SingCom (Singapore Communication Investments Pte Ltd), a wholly owned subsidiary, will hold the remaining 10%.

The joint venture company will tap the expertise and experience of the respective shareholders in the implementation of the project. Singapore Telecom will provide the expertise and technical support in the planning and implementation of telecommunication networks and systems. Its track record at providing advanced telecommunication services will give tenants considerable assurance about the quality of the facilities that will be available. Technology Parks will contribute its experience in the areas of property development, operation and maintenance. It has been involved with the development and management of high tech properties including the highly successful Science Park. Singapore Technologies Ventures which has vast experience in telecommunication equipment manufacturing will also bring its own area of expertise to the project. It has evaluated and invested actively in many high technology ventures including several in the telecommunication area.

On its part, TAS brings with it, its valuable contacts with telecommunication companies and research organisations. It will also assist by seeing to the successful implementation of the TeleTech Park project. The TAS has made it their responsibility to build up the foundation for a world class telecommunication infrastructure so as to make Singapore a global telecommunication hub.

The concept of the TeleTech Park was considered and studied as early as mid 1992 when a working group was formed with representatives from the National Science and Technology Board, National Computer Board, Economic Development Board, Jurong Town Corporation, Singapore Telecom and TAS. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contributions to the development of the conceptual plan. Their continuing support will be vital to the eventual success of the Park.

Let me now dwell on some details of the TeleTech Park. The Park will be developed on a 1.8 hectare piece of land to be situated either within Science Park II or the International Business Park in Jurong East. It is now in the design stage. It will be a building of 4 to 5 storeys within a park-like environment. The gross floor area of the building will be about 24,000 square metres. Many of the latest intelligent building features and security systems will be incorporated into the building. Broadband test-bed facilities will also be provided for the tenants to test out their prototype products. Situated right in the heart of Singapore's technology corridor, TeleTech Park will be linked with other technology parks, tertiary institutions and key research organisations, through high speed communication networks enabling the exchange of voice, data, image and video information.

One of the unique features of the Park is that it allows companies conducting R&D to also carry out small scale manufacturing, giving them a convenient location to interact and develop new products to meet customer needs. We expect the Park to be ready for its first tenants by early 1996.

The joint venture company will target both local and foreign telecommunication and information technology companies to take up tenancies at TeleTech Park. I personally hope that multi-national companies will use Singapore as a spring board for product research and development, as part of their business expansion into the fast growing Asia-Pacific region.

With TeleTech Park in place, Singapore is set to join the leading countries in the world in telecommunication research and application development. I wish TeleTech Park Pte Ltd all the best in its endeavours.

Thank you.