The consolidation of all public-sector industrial properties under one agency provides hope for the better utilisation of the huge land space occupied by low-rise terrace workshops and industrial shops ("HDB industrial land and properties to come under JTC"; Oct 20).

Hopefully, this can lead to the development of more industrial units or the release of much-needed extra land for residential and commercial, or even recreational, purposes.

In a small island-state, land is definitely a finite resource to be tapped more optimally. But to do so, an inter-ministry effort must work together with JTC Corporation.

It is a good start for JTC to take over from HDB, so that it can have an overall view of all the industrial land and industrial units in Singapore, to see how to modernise and intensify the land use for the benefit of Singapore.

The industrial scene in Singapore certainly needs some scenic transformation, besides the injection of more economic life and buzz to this important sector for job creation and economic growth.

Gan Kok Tiong