FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC ANNOUNCES ONE OF THIS YEAR’S BIGGEST AWARDS FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY FOR ITS WOODLANDS CAMPUS TENDER
SINGAPORE - 6 NOVEMBER – Today, Republic Polytechnic announced that it had awarded a contract to build its permanent Woodlands campus to the China Construction Development Company (CCDC) – Taisei Corporation JV. This is one of the biggest construction projects in Singapore this year as the industry faces a tough year of stagnant growth caused by the economic downturn. The JV has submitted a tender bid of S$322 million for this project.
Due to be completed in 2006, the Woodlands campus will cover an area of 20 hectares with a built-in area of over 200,000 m². It will be the hub of the north, a vibrant campus that is friendly and welcoming to students, staff, visitors, industrialists and the community at large. Designed by award-winning Japanese architect, Mr Fumihiko Maki, Principal Director of Maki & Associates and DP Architects, the Woodlands campus embraces both elements of being a learning hub as well as an iconic landmark, integrated with the ‘campus-in-a-park’ concept.
Principal & CEO of Republic Polytechnic, Professor Low Teck Seng, explains the thoughts behind Woodlands’ thematic design, “As an institution, we seek to offer our students, not just a beautiful lifestyle campus, but one that blends both architectural ingenuity with all the latest facilities and amenities of a premiere institution of higher learning. We look forward to starting life in the Woodlands community and serving the students, residents and public members.”
Commencing work in November 2003, Phase I will be completed in November 2005 and house 5,600 students. The following year, Phase II will accommodate over 11,000 students on campus. When fully completed in 2007, Republic Polytechnic will have over 13,000 students and in excess of 1,000 staff members.
Mr Philip Ng, Chairman of The Republic’s Development Committee, comments on this tender award, “We had a very well contested tender exercise and are quite satisfied that we are awarding this contract to an experienced international contractor with strong financial backing and the ability to complete this very important project.”
The tender quotations submitted for this project range between $300-$450 million. CCDC-Taisei submitted the lowest quotation amongst the ten tendering companies.
Established since 1992, the main contracting firm, CCDC, is ranked one of the top fifteen global contractors by the Engineering News Record consecutively in 2002 and 2003. Its track record has been consistent and to date, CCDC has successfully completed over S$ 1.6 billion worth of building contracts. In recent years, CCDC’s annual turnover has been around S$250 million including public and private housing, institutional, commercial, and industrial projects.
Taisei Corporation was established in 1874 and is one of the leading engineering and construction companies in Japan. Taisei’s 2003’s net sales revenue is in excess of S$27 billion. In Japan, Taisei has completed several projects for world renowned Maki & Associates, who is also the Principal Designer for this Woodlands campus.
Mr Chen Guo Cai, Vice-President & Managing Director of CCDC, is very pleased to be awarded this contract, “We are happy to have been chosen for this big scale construction project. To us, it is an indication of the combined strengths of both ChinaCon and Taisei Corporation that stands us in good stead. We will work towards the deadlines given and deliver high quality and reliable service, just as we’ve always done.”
The business partnership between CCDC and Taisei Corporation started in the 1970s with international projects. In Singapore, collaboration has been ongoing for over a year and The Republic’s Woodlands campus is the fourth joint venture that has been co-tendered and combines the experienced management capability of Taisei and strong execution capability of CCDC for successful management and execution.