Singapore Expo

Singapore Expo
Address 1 Expo Drive, Singapore 486150
Location Tampines, Singapore
Coordinates 1°20′02.52″N 103°57′32.15″E / 1.3340333°N 103.9589306°E / 1.3340333; 103.9589306Coordinates: 1°20′02.52″N 103°57′32.15″E / 1.3340333°N 103.9589306°E / 1.3340333; 103.9589306
Owner PSA International
Operator Temasek Holdings
Singex Venues Private Limited
Architect Cox Richardson Rayner
Opened March 4, 1999
Construction cost
SGD$220 million
Enclosed space
  Total space 123,000 m2 (1,320,000 sq ft)
  Exhibit hall floor Halls 1-6 60,000 m2 (650,000 sq ft)
Halls 7-9 32,000 m2 (340,000 sq ft)
Parking Yes[1]
Public transit access  CG1  DT35  Expo
Website
Singapore EXPO

The Singapore Expo (Chinese: 新加坡博览中心) is the largest convention and exhibition venue in Singapore with over 100,000 square metres of column-free, indoor space spread over 10 halls. Built and managed by PSA International, and funded by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the S$220 million building (excluding the cost of the 40,000 m² expansion) was built in the east of Singapore in the town of Tampines. Currently managed by Temasek Holdings, Singex Venues Private Limited, the government-owned building was designed by Cox Richardson Rayner.

It was officially opened on 4 March 1999. Additionally, it is served by the Expo MRT station on the Changi Airport Branch Line of the East West Line and Downtown Line.

Facilities

Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Center is the largest meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions venue in Singapore and is one of the largest and most completely equipped centre in the whole of Asia. There are ten large multipurpose halls, each being 10,000 square metres in size, giving a total floor space of over 100,000 square metres. All available spaces are interconnected, column free and on ground level.

Ten conference halls are also available, ranging in size from 89 to 844 square metres, suitable for accommodating 150 to 1,000 people. In addition, there are meeting rooms which can seat 15 to 125 members.

The original Singapore Expo building comprised six interconnected halls of 10,000 square metres each, with column free-spaces and ceiling heights of up to 16 metres. Each hall is self-contained and is linked to the other halls by air-conditioned walkways. An additional 40,000 square metres (four new halls) were completed in September 2005 and linked to the original building across Expo Drive via a sheltered walkway.

A carpark for 2,200 vehicles is also available, which can be converted into 25,000 square metres of outdoor exhibition space. It is accessible by MRT, by transferring to the train at the middle platform at Tanah Merah interchange.

Singex Venues, the management company of Singapore EXPO, is the only MICE company in the world to have dual certification in Business Continuity Management (awarded by the British and Singapore standards).[2]

History

With the exhibition space at the World Trade Centre slated for demolition, a replacement venue which could exceed the 34,000 square metres of indoor space was needed. The initial phase of the construction on the building thereby commenced in 1997, in spite of the impact the Asian financial crisis had on the economy, and it was completed two years later when the building was officially opened on 4 March 1999. Critics predicted that the halls would be under-utilized and further worsened by its relatively remote location, compared to the old World Trade Centre, or the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (now known as the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre) which had opened earlier in 1995. Bus and taxi services were the primary mode of transportation commuters took to reach Expo, both of which were overwhelmed during peak hours. This led to a pressing need for an MRT station connecting to the MRT route to both Changi Airport and the town, thereby easing the load on both the bus and taxi services.

The initial years almost proved the critics right, although the venue made a quick turnaround within a few years. The opening of the Expo MRT Station on 10 January 2001 was a boost to the venue, which was experiencing increasing usage for functions including conventions, exhibitions, rock concerts, New Year parties, beauty pageants, musicals, and even as examination halls for educational institutions.

By 2003, demand for ever bigger exhibition space prompted the Singapore Expo to proceed with its expansion plans, especially in response to the needs of IMTA Asia, which was slated to be held from October 17 to 21, 2005. With the inaugural show already occupying the full 60,000 square metres of space, pressure was on the venue to expand, or the prestigious event may have to move somewhere else since there is no other bigger venue available in Singapore. In response, a new 40,000 square metre expansion comprising a further four halls was constructed adjacent to the existing halls across Expo Drive in double quick time to meet the expected exhibition period, and was completed in June 2005. The extension includes a multi-purpose event hall and auditorium for large-scale meetings, seminars, conferences, congresses, concerts and other special events known as The MAX Pavilion. The original plan to build the second phase at the carpark is still on the cards.

Since 2001, the Bethesda Community church has been renting the Singapore EXPO Meeting Rooms for weekly services. Since December 2005, the largest church in Singapore, City Harvest Church, used Hall 8 of the Singapore Expo on a weekly basis, while the 10,000-member Faith Community Baptist Church used Hall 10 (The Max Pavilion) till the Urban Redevelopment Authority imposed their terms of religious organisations leasing venues of not more than 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2) on February 2011.

Downtown line connection

Road sign along Upper Changi Road East pointing to the exhibition halls.

Singapore EXPO has been connected to the Downtown Line after the Downtown Line portion of Expo MRT Station began operations.

Major Events in Singapore Expo

  • International Furniture Fair Singapore 2014 / 31st ASEAN Furniture Show
  • My Home Grand Furniture & Reno Expo (Yearly)
  • Home Planner Furniture & Renovation Expo (Yealy)
  • Top Interior & Furniture Show (Yealy)
  • Food & Hotel Asia 2014
  • Apink "Pink Paradise in Singapore" Concert (2015)
  • League of Legends Season 2014 World Championship
  • BuildTech Asia 2014
  • ASEAN Career Fair with Japan 2015
  • International Furniture Fair Singapore 2015 / 32nd ASEAN Furniture Show
  • Green Urban Scape Asia 2015
  • CNY Flower Fest 2016
  • International Furniture Fair Singapore 2016 / 33rd ASEAN Furniture Show
  • Food & Hotel Asia 2016 (FHA 2016)
  • World Wealth Creation Conference[3] (2017)
  • The Cars@EXPO 2018
  • Pet EXPO 2018
  • International Furniture Fair Singapore 2018 & 35th ASEAN Furniture Show & NOOK Asia 2018

Notes and references

  1. "Singapore Expo - Parking". Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  2. "Aloysius Arlando". TTGmice. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017.
  3. "World Wealth Creation Conference - official website".
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