Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2^nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am very pleased to be here this evening for the official opening of Capital Tower, one of the newest additions to the Central Business District.

The existing downtown has seen many interesting changes since the early 1990s. Not only has quality office space been added, but many new areas and developments have contributed to a much livelier downtown, especially at night. Along the Singapore River, Boat Quay is now a well-known destination for restaurants, al fresco cafes and trendy pubs for both locals and visitors. China Square has become an extension of Raffles Place by day, with its office crowds, and an increasingly popular place at night for dining and meeting people. Lau Pau Sat is another place for local food in the evening.

The newly opened Fullerton Hotel and its waterfront development, One Fullerton, have added glitter and drawn crowds back to our waterfront at Collyer Quay. With the soon to be completed Esplanade – Theatres by the Bay, and the new developments coming on stream at the New Downtown, the entire Marina bayfront will eventually come alive with people and activities. The bay itself may be dotted with ferries and pleasure craft.

Such activity-generating areas are integral to making the city more vibrant and alive. The Government will continue in its efforts to infuse more life into the city even as we provide high quality commercial space and infrastructure for economic growth in both the existing and the New Downtown.

Developers have also played their part in making the city more attractive and vibrant. They have become more sensitive and innovative in incorporating within their developments spaces that benefit not just tenants, but also the general public.

Take CapitaLand for instance. Not only has Capital Tower contributed to our commercial sector with anchor tenants like the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, JP Morgan Chase, Dai-ichi and Cisco Systems (USA), it has also significantly enhanced our cityscape.

Its spacious forecourt plaza, with sculptures and pocket parks, provides an urban space for people to meet up and relax. The landscaped greenery and water features provide cool relief from the hot weather, and the well-coordinated street furniture is both pleasant and functional. I notice that cafes and shops have also been added to the ground floor to introduce street life to the city. All these critical elements combine to making the plaza an inviting place, one that enhances our experience of the city.

The developer has also taken the initiative to light up Capital Tower. This certainly contributes to a more distinctive city skyline at night. More buildings should consider lighting up their buildings at night.

Besides having more activity-generating areas, increasing the live-in population in the Central Area is another way of injecting life into the city. That is why one of the key strategies for housing in the Draft Concept Plan 2001 is to increase the proportion of the population in the Central Area from the current 3% to 7%. That will mean more housing opportunities, both public and private, for all. The government will continue to facilitate this process by releasing land for mixed uses and also specifically for housing in the Central Area.

Accessibility is another key factor in making the city centre more vibrant. In the new Concept Plan, we have made provisions for new rail lines into the city, making it convenient for people to get in and around the city.

Another aspect of accessibility is pedestrian-friendliness. URA and LTA have plans for a more comprehensive pedestrian network in the city.

Currently, we already have extensive pedestrian networks at the Raffles Place and Orchard MRT Stations – with underground links connecting directly to surrounding shops and buildings. Some sites with similar underground links have been sold at Raffles Link and more recently, the New Downtown. An underpass between Capital Tower and the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station has just been opened to improve pedestrian connectivity.

Where such air-conditioned underground links are lined with shops and food and beverage outlets, they serve a dual purpose and benefit pedestrians and shoppers alike. We could certainly do with more of such links.

URA has come up with a set of new guidelines to encourage building owners to incorporate retail and eating outlets into underground links connecting their buildings to existing or future MRT stations. To encourage developers to do so, URA will allow additional floor area above the allowable gross plot ratio for such activity-generating uses. URA has released details of this incentive today.

We are slowly but surely seeing a more lively city centre, one where we can work and play. Not too far in the future, more people will also get to live in the heart of the city. Capital Tower will stand proudly right in the heart of the city.

May I commend the developers, architects, engineers, builders and all who had a hand in this, for a job well done. It is a worthy addition to our city.

I am pleased to declare Capital Tower officially open. Thank you.