The Suzhou Industrial Park Project (1994-2001): The Failure of a Development Strategy

Abstract

This article assesses the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) project as a developmental strategy of the Singapore government. The primary focus will be on explaining the reasons behind the strategy's failure. It begins with a background to the Singapore government's 'economic regionalization' strategy, followed by a description of how the Singapore government proceeded to develop & manage the SIP between 1994 & 2001. The article then identifies a few positive aspects of the SIP project, as well as several problematic aspects that ultimately led to the Singapore government's disengagement. The article concludes by arguing that despite a few successes, the SIP project must be considered a failure as a developmental strategy, as it did not achieve the intended objective of generating an external income to supplement Singapore's domestic economy.