The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) was formed on 1 Jun 1968 to take over the work of developing and managing Singapore's industrial estates and their related facilities from the Economic Development Board (EDB).[1] One of its first tasks was to expand the Jurong industrial estate through the reclamation of swamplands for the construction of industrial facilities and factories.[2] Within three years, Jurong was transformed into a self-contained satellite town with social and recreational amenities for residents and workers.[3]
The ensuing decades saw JTC play a leading role in developing facilities and infrastructure in line with the shift from labour-intensive manufacturing to research-based, capital-intensive, high-technology industries.[4] For example, JTC oversaw the Jurong Island reclamation project, which entailed the merger and development of seven offshore islands into a chemical and petrochemical complex.[5] Other landmark initiatives included the setting up of spaces that combine research, commercial, industrial and office use such as the Singapore Science Park, the International Business Park and the Changi Business Park.[6] One of the more recent developments is the one-north project at Buona Vista, which combines research facilities and business park space with residences and recreational amenities.[7]
JTC was renamed JTC Corporation in November 2000 and is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.[8] As of May 2013, JTC manages 43 estates that cover 7,100 hectares of land area, providing 3.2 million square metres of ready-built space for 5,100 customers.[9]
References
1. Jurong Town Corporation. (1969). Annual report. Singapore: Author. Call no.: 352.0072 JTCAR.
2. $30 mil Jurong project to begin soon. (1968, September 4). The Straits Times, p. 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Jurong now fully self-contained town, says JTC. (1972, November 24). The Straits Times, p. 12. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Jurong Town Corporation. (2012, October 12). Our history. Retrieved July 11, 2013, from http://www.jtc.gov.sg/About-JTC/Pages/Our-History.aspx
4.Yong, P. A. (1983, September 13). Changing emphasis of JTC: From labour intensive in the 60s to high technology in the 80s. Singapore Monitor – Afternoon Edition, p. 6. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
5. Reclamation to start for Jurong Island project. (1995, March 10). The Straits Times, p. 48. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Jurong Town Corporation, 12 Oct 2012, Our history.
6. Jurong Town Corporation, 12 Oct 2012, Our history.
7. Chong, V. (2001, December 5). $15b global science hub for Buona Vista. The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Jurong Town Corporation. (2013, May 20). one-north. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://www.jtc.gov.sg/RealEstateSolutions/one-north/Pages/default.aspx
8. Chong, V. (2000, November 16). It's now JTC Corporation. The Business Times, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
9. Jurong Town Corporation. (2013, May 20). JTC today, moving ahead. Retrieved July 12, 2013, from http://www.jtc.gov.sg/About-JTC/Pages/JTC-Today.aspx
Rights Statement
The information in this article is valid as at 2010 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.