Proposed rezoning in one-north to double space for start-up facilities
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- The One-North area’s LaunchPad will have its floor space doubled through rezoning, increasing the gross plot ratio from about 1.0 to 2.5.
- JTC plans to integrate LaunchPad as one development with mixed uses, including new AI park blocks, event spaces, sports facilities, and better connectivity.
- Work has started with a tender for the AI block to house up to 70 companies, with Kampong AI expected to be completed by 2028.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Proposed zoning changes will effectively double the amount of floor space to build facilities for Singapore’s start-up ecosystem in the one-north area, including an upcoming artificial intelligence park.
LaunchPad @ One-North, which consists of 9.82ha – roughly equivalent to 14 football fields – will be assigned a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 2.5, up from its overall GPR of slightly more than 1.0 today.
The plot ratio determines the maximum permissible floor area of developments.
LaunchPad was started by JTC in 2015 as a hub to bring together start-ups, incubators, accelerators and venture capitalists in a collaborative ecosystem. Since its launch, it has housed more than 2,400 start-ups, including Carousell, Patsnap and Nium, and hosts more than 30 incubators, accelerators and venture capital firms.
Industrial developer JTC Corporation said that the doubling of the permissible floor space lets it rejuvenate LaunchPad as one integrated development, allowing a mix of uses to strengthen the start-up ecosystem.
“This includes the adaptive reuse of two existing flatted factories as Kampong AI’s AI block and accommodation block,” said JTC, referring to a new AI park set up to attract promising start-ups, which the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced in March.
Currently, the LaunchPad comprises different zones. Most of the estate is designated for business parks, but without a set development intensity as yet.
Smaller plots are zoned for business parks with GPRs of 5.0 and 4.0, alongside plots set aside for mixed-use development and roads.
With the proposed rezoning, the different land parcels which are currently set aside for different uses will be within one unified business park zone.
JTC will also be able to incorporate new event spaces, sports facilities, networking areas, and more food and beverage options across the estate.
There will also be enhanced sheltered connectivity between blocks, including new covered linkways.
Work to rejuvenate the LaunchPad is already under way, with a tender to design and build the AI block for Kampong AI launched on July 29.
The completed block will provide 14,500 sq m of business park space, including event and collaboration spaces, for up to 70 companies.
In response to queries on whether the zoning changes will have implications for the current tender, which involves alteration works for Block 47 in Ayer Rajah Crescent, JTC said the tender will not be affected as it involves adaptive reuse of an existing flatted factory building.
The tender closes on Aug 24.
Separate tenders for the accommodation block, as well as for estate improvement, will be launched progressively.
Kampong AI is slated for completion by 2028.
JTC is set to overhaul LaunchPad with new partnerships and facilities as part of its masterplan announced during Budget 2026 delivered on Feb 12.
In March, the industrial developer had unveiled a new co-working and event space at LaunchPad called The Meeting Point. This space is a dedicated venue for networking, investor meetings and community events.
There were also new measures to support the start-up ecosystem announced in March. These include access for start-ups based at LaunchPad to 19 global start-up nodes, such as San Francisco, Paris, Tokyo and Shenzhen – thanks to agreements between JTC and NUS Enterprise, and a memorandum of understanding inked with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship and INSEAD.
Start-up friendly policies have also been introduced – companies at LaunchPad do not have to pay rent for up to two months while they are fitting out their space, and also enjoy flexible lease terms and shorter notice periods that allow them to adjust their needs as they grow.
Singapore’s start-up ecosystem is ranked fourth in the world, according to the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index by research platform StartupBlink.
A key hub in Asia for innovative companies and investors, it has more than 4,500 tech start-ups, 220 incubators and accelerators, and over 500 venture capital firms.
Singapore has been stepping up efforts to support early- and growth-stage tech firms, including providing a $1 billion top-up to enhance the Startup SG Equity scheme announced in Budget 2026.
The programme provides initial capital to catalyse and crowd in private funding for promising start-ups.
