EVALUATION OF THE POLICY OF DECENTRALISATION OF COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES TO REGIONAL CENTRES

Abstract

The governnent has planned to develop four Regional Centres at Tampines, Woodlands, Jurong East and Seletar. These centres will house commercial activities which do not need a central location. To evaluate this policy, it is hypothesised that the decentralisation of commercial activities in Singapore is unavoidable, as a result of the spatial limitation of the city centre. The development of Regional Centres to accommodate these activities is a feasible strategy. Based on findings from the analyses of the local office market and past trends in office development in Singapore, it is concluded that decentralisation is, indeed, inevitable in Singapore. The appropriateness and the feasibility of the strategy are also confirmed. A survey shows that the majority of private developers are supportive of the scheme. An examination of the features of the proposed centres reveals that these centres possess many advantages that will help to generate the appropriate centrifugal forces for firms to relocate. The study also highlights several areas of concern, which may affect the success of the scheme. Ultimately, however, the success of the scheme depends, to a large extent, on how well the government and the private sector implement it.