SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas) to drive the adoption of geospatial technology and spur geospatial innovation in Singapore.

Under the MOU, SLA and Redas will jointly promote awareness of geospatial technologies and organise joint events as well as capability development programmes that can address the challenges faced by the real estate and related industries.

The MOU signing ceremony was held on June 1 at Geo Connect Asia 2022, the geospatial and location intelligence industry trade show and conference, and was witnessed by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong. The conference will also see the first initiative to be rolled out under the MOU — a seminar by a panel of experts on engaging geo-based solutions to enhance building design, operations and maintenance.

SLA will also explore working with developers to place 3D models of newly launched projects on OneMap to showcase the views at different building vantage points to consumers.

Chia Ngiang Hong, president of Redas, says the collaboration will advance the current push by the real estate industry towards the digitalisation of real estate development. “We also look forward to working with SLA to tap on its extensive networks to upskill our members’ and the industry’s geospatial knowledge and competencies to help improve productivity, resilience and sustainability for real estate and related businesses,” he adds.

Meanwhile, SLA chief executive Colin Low notes that geospatial technology can be a catalyst to spark improvement to business operations and service delivery across various industries, as it supports many cutting-edge technologies. “We look forward to working with Redas to pool together our collective expertise and unlock the potential of geospatial technology in the real estate sector,” he says.

Ng Siau Yong, SLA’s director of geospatial & data division, adds that geospatial technology can add value across the development stages within the real estate sector. As an example, 3D city models can support the design and build of properties at the pre-development stage as well as during the marketing stage to help buyers visualise the development.

SLA’s MOU with Redas follows a series of other MOUs the agency has signed within the past year to deepen industry collaborations and improve SLA’s geospatial products including the national map of Singapore, OneMap, and OneMap 3D. These include MOUs with Ninja Van, robotics company Kabam, and property agencies PropNex Realty, ERA Realty Network, OrangeTee & Tie, Huttons Asia and SRI.