Singapore: A spectacular city-state

Evonik Country Asia

Reading Time 3 min

September 15, 2022

Two hundred years ago, Singapore was a fishing village. Today it’s a thriving metropolis with nearly six millions inhabitants. Strategically located in the heart of Southeast Asia, Singapore lies at the crossroads of the region’s major shipping and aviation routes, and is known as one of the most technologically advanced and greenest cities in the world.

By Carola Hoffmeister

21392120 — The two greenhouses of the Gardens by the Bay lie like two gigantic, prehistoric shells on land reclaimed from the sea,located southeast of the city center. The adjacent harbor is buzzing with activity even at night. It’s the world’s second-biggest harbor, after the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai. In Singapore, the status of the global economy can be observed up close. During periods of economic recession hundreds of cargo ships lie idle in the anchorage, but lately the harbor has barely been able to cope with heightened global demand. There are transshipment terminals on several islands. Jurong Island is one of them. Located about 30 kilometers from the central waterfront promenade, it is the heart of Singapore’s energy and chemicals industry and also hosts two major Evonik production plants.

A mall with a row of fast-food restaurants — Honed across generations, Singaporeans have perfected their art of traditional street food in hawker centers — a collection of fast food stands under one roof that have been on UNESCO’s list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity since 2019. Almost every hawker center includes a stall selling Hainan chicken rice—a dish that was brought to Singapore by immigrants from southern China. The food offered by some hawker stalls is so good that it has been singled out by the Guide Michelin. Products from local Evonik plants are helping to make the production of chicken meat especially sustainable. In Singapore the company produces MetAMINO®, an amino acid that reduces the crude protein content of chicken feed and thus makes it easier for the birds to digest. The plant in Singapore is the biggest of the three Evonik plants worldwide that supply this product.

Alternativbild — The Raffles Hotel, which was built in the colonial style in 1887, is named after the founder of Singapore, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. It’s known as Singapore’s top address. The famous cocktail called the Singapore Sling was created in the hotel’s historic Long Bar. The opulent suites have been occupied by guests such as Elizabeth II, Charlie Chaplin, and Michael Jackson. Keeping the facade of this national monument brilliantly white requires regular maintenance. The splendor of the Raffles Hotel was recently restored by a renovation process that lasted two and a half years. The paintwork of buildings in tropical regions is especially durable if paints and coatings contain additives from the Evonik brand TEGO®.

1337394318 — Unlike many other megacities, Singapore is a paradise for cyclists. Away from noisy vehicle traffic, they zoom along well-developed bike paths from one park to the next while enjoying views of the city’s harbors and skylines. This is made possible by the Park Connector Network (PCN), a 300-kilometer-long network of paths for hiking, jogging, and cycling that connects Singapore’s recreation areas with one another. Cyclists heading for an outing in this green paradise need to have the right equipment. 3D-printed products made of high-performance materials from Evonik’s ready-to-print INFINAM® line can offer the robust quality that is required for cycling and other outdoor sports — especially in hot weather.

BEautiful Flowers — More than 300 parks and gardens bloom and flourish in Singapore—a splendid environment that has earned this metropolis the title of “Asia’s greenest city.” In the hope of soon becoming the greenest city in the world, Singapore’s government supports projects such as the Gardens by the Bay recreation area with its spectacular glass buildings. The Flower Dome, which covers 1.28 hectares, is home to more than 32,000 plants from temperate regions. In the smaller Cloud Forest Dome, orchids bloom on a misty mountain near a waterfall. Decorative cement walls in the Chinese Garden withstand the warm and humid climate thanks to anti-corrosive products such as Protectosil® from Evonik.

FOCUS

In 2018 Evonik expanded its research and development activities in Singapore by building a research center that focuses on resource efficiency. Innovations in the areas of functional surfaces and additive manufacturing are actively developed here. In addition, Evonik operates a large-scale plant for the production of methionine on Jurong Island. With the help of this amino acid, customers can make the feeding of farm animals healthy, efficient, and environmentally friendly.

Evonik locations
1 Nordic European Centre
2 Jurong Island
3 Jurong Island
4 Tuas
5 Tuas
6 Biopolis

A map of Singapore, showing the Evonik sites

The 6 locations have 700 employess.