The sustainable cooling solution strengthens Tampines’ Eco Town ambitions, by reducing carbon emissions by 1,000 tonnes, and achieving energy savings of more than 2,300,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually.

SINGAPORE, 14 MARCH 2025 — SP Group (SP) has commenced operations for a distributed district cooling (DDC) network at Tampines, making it Singapore’s first town centre retrofitted with this sustainable cooling solution.

The network was officially launched by Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Adviser to Tampines GRC GROs, Minister for Social and Family Development, Second Minister for Health and Minister-incharge of Muslim Affairs, at Our Tampines Hub. Four other Advisers to Tampines GRC GROs, Dr Koh Poh Koon, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Baey Yam Keng, and Dr Charlene Chen also attended the event.

The DDC network is specially engineered for brownfield developments to provide the same cooling comfort while enhancing energy efficiency and lowering carbon emissions. One key requirement during the construction of the network was to minimise disruption to traffic flow and daily business operations. Over the two-year construction period, SP regularly engaged with building owners, residents, and the public to mitigate inconvenience to the community.

Seven existing buildings across the town centre are connected to the network – Century Square, CPF Tampines Building, Income At Tampines Junction, OCBC Tampines Centre 2, Our Tampines Hub, Tampines Mall and Tampines 1.

The network will strengthen Tampines’ Eco Town ambitions by helping the town centre reduce its carbon emissions by 1,000 tonnes annually – equivalent to removing 910 cars off our roads. It will also achieve energy savings of more than 2,300,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, which can power more than 710 three-room HDB households for a year.

Mr Masagos said: “With climate change worsening, there is an urgent need to bolster our national sustainability efforts to address inevitable environmental challenges in the coming years. This distributed district cooling project will therefore provide a crucial foundation for Singapore to deploy more sustainable energy solutions in existing townships. Apart from enjoying energy and cost savings, building owners who pool their resources together can reduce their carbon emissions and play an important role in Singapore’s sustainable development.”

“The launch of the distributed district cooling network in Tampines marks a significant milestone as Singapore’s first district cooling solution in a brownfield development. This pioneering initiative by SP Group highlights that by reimagining how cooling solutions are deployed in existing urban environments, we can unlock new pathways to support the nation’s climate goals and drive long-term resilience. We appreciate the support of our partners and building owners to bring this cooling solution to completion, laying the foundation for future eco-districts and a greener tomorrow.” said Mr Stanley Huang, SP’s Group Chief Executive Officer.

Instead of constructing a new centralised cooling plant, a DDC network utilises existing in-building chiller plants that have been carefully evaluated. A few injection nodes are then selected based on their existing excess cooling capacity and superior energy efficiency factor. Of the seven buildings in Tampines plugged into the DDC network, Century Square, Our Tampines Hub and Tampines 1 will serve as injection nodes.

By connecting the injection nodes through a piping network, the rest of the buildings can obtain chilled water for their cooling needs, thereby removing the need for their own chiller plants completely. This in turn optimises the installed cooling capacity, ensures chiller systems operate at maximum efficiency, and leads to more benefits including reducing equipment costs and freeing up leasable space.

For the next phase, SP Group is in discussions to add more buildings in the vicinity to the network, further enhancing Tampines’s Eco Town ambitions.

Following a successful feasibility study of brownfield DDC published in August 2021, the now completed network in Tampines will support the Singapore Green Plan 2030, a whole-of-nation movement to advance Singapore’s national agenda on sustainable development. Cooling contributes to Singapore’s annual carbon emissions, as air-conditioning can utilis up to 50 per cent of a building’s energy consumption. With more than 80 per cent of Singapore’s landscape being brownfield, a wider application of such a sustainable cooling solution will contribute towards the energy goals under the Green Plan and Singapore’s climate targets of reaching net zero by 2050.

Quotes from building owners

Quote from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust
“At CICT, we are committed to embedding sustainability considerations into key stages of our real estate lifecycle as we work toward achieving goals which are aligned with our sponsor CapitaLand Investment’s 2030 Sustainability Master Plan. From investment to design, development, and operations, we continuously seek solutions that will enhance our sustainability performance while meeting the evolving needs of our stakeholders. As at 31 December 2024, our entire portfolio, including Tampines Mall, is green-certified. We are pleased to be part of the distributed district cooling network at Tampines, contributing to the collective effort of building a more sustainable future and supporting the communities where we operate.”
– Mr Tony Tan, Chief Executive Officer, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) Management Limited

Quote from Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board
“The launch of the district cooling system in Tampines is a significant milestone to deploy a more sustainable and energy-efficient solution to existing developments, and CPF Board is happy to have CPF Tampines Building be a part of this effort. This innovative infrastructure will bolster the energy efficiency performance of our building and reduce our carbon footprint. It exemplifies the Board’s commitment to innovative, eco-friendly solutions that benefit both our operations and the environment."
– Ms Melissa Khoo, Chief Executive Officer, CPF Board

Quote from Frasers Property Singapore
"We are proud to support the Singapore Green Plan 2030 as we mark the completion of the nation’s first brownfield distributed district cooling network. As a leading real estate player, Frasers Property is committed to delivering sustainable, energy-efficient solutions that benefit our businesses and the wider ecosystem. With our Tampines 1 and Century Square malls serving as key nodes of the network, we are not only optimising energy use for our own operations but also supporting other participating businesses in Tampines. This groundbreaking initiative aligns with our net zero goal by 2050 and underscores the significance of partnerships in creating a sustainable built environment. Together with like-minded corporations, we are advancing innovative solutions that pave the way for a greener and more resilient future for all."
– Ms Soon Su Lin, Chief Executive Officer, Frasers Property Singapore

Quote from Income Insurance
“We are pleased to partner SP Group on this impactful initiative that brings together like-minded stakeholders to collectively support climate transition. By being part of the distributed district cooling network in Tampines’ Eco Town, we will be able to better optimise energy efficiency and distribution, which can only be beneficial for the environment, our tenants and the community in the long-term. Such innovative green initiatives align with Income Insurance’s decarbonisation efforts as we progress towards our ambition to be net-zero by 2050, and also in support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.”
– Mr David Chua, Chief Investment Officer, Income Insurance

Quote from OCBC
“We are delighted to contribute to the establishment of Singapore’s first distributed district cooling network at Tampines. Conducting our business responsibly and managing our environmental footprint is critical to us. While our banking operations have already achieved carbon neutrality, we will continue to pursue innovative solutions and collective action to address the climate challenges of the future.”
– Ms Emily Teo, Head of Group Property Management, OCBC

Quote from People’s Association
“The People’s Association (PA) supports the Tampines Distributed District Cooling project as it complements PA’s wider sustainability goals of reducing 10% of our energy use by 2030. In addition, the incentive bonus floor area granted for our participation in this project will enable us to build a new facility at Our Tampines Hub to benefit Tampines residents.”
– Mr Goh Si Mien, Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Development), People’s Association