Hanam City to Benchmark Singapore Landmarks Including Marina Bay Sands to Create a Premier Mixed-Use City

by Lee jonggu

Published 12 Sep.2025 18:40(KST)

Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province announced on September 12 that, under the leadership of Mayor Lee Hyunjae, it will embark on a "Next-Generation Urban Development Vision Benchmarking" trip from September 15 to 18, lasting three nights and four days. This initiative aims to ensure the successful execution of major development projects such as K-Star World, Gyosan New Town, and Camp Colbern, all of which are being pursued to create a prosperous future city for all citizens.

Panoramic View of Hanam City Hall. Provided by Hanam City

This benchmarking program will begin with a lecture by Professor Choi Changkyu of Hanyang University, who is also Vice President of the Korea Planning Association, where participants will learn about various cases in urban development and urban planning. Afterwards, the delegation will benchmark exemplary cases on-site in Singapore. In addition, in-depth discussions on practical development strategies are planned through a field meeting with a professor from the National University of Singapore.

Professor Choi Changkyu emphasized mixed-use development (Work+Live+Play) as a key trend in recent urban development. He explained that successful mixed-use projects require the integrated creation of industrial facilities, high-quality residential complexes, and supporting infrastructure, as well as the resolution of environmental issues through eco-friendly residential development utilizing water circulation systems. Singapore is a leading example of this "mixed-use development," and Hanam City is considering applying these strategies to its own development projects.

The city stressed the importance of referencing practical urban development strategies such as the process of residential complex development, the arrangement of work facilities, and eco-friendly development through this benchmarking effort.

Singapore maintains a high economic standard, with an average annual GDP growth rate of about 7%. It also ranked third in the "2025 Happy City Index," an annual survey conducted by the UK's Quality of Life Research Institute. In particular, Singapore scored highly in economic innovation and low unemployment rates.

On the other hand, Hanam City has consistently ranked within the top 10 in the Social Safety Index, which measures livability. However, to address its low per capita GRDP (24th in Gyeonggi Province), a benchmarking team consisting of Mayor Lee Hyunjae, Seo Kyungho, Head of Urban Development at Hanam Urban Corporation, Lee Youngsoo, Director of Economic and Cultural Affairs, and others, will visit relevant sites to learn from Singapore's economic innovation achieved through successful urban development.

The first theme of this benchmarking trip is "Establishing Directions for Successful Mixed-Use Development."

Globally, there are numerous examples of mixed-use development that combine residential, office, large-scale shopping facilities, and green spaces, such as Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and Dalian Heights Crossing in the United States.

Marina Bay Sands is a large-scale mixed-use facility that combines a hotel, shopping center, convention center, and performance venue. Since its opening in 2010, its revenue has accounted for 1% of Singapore’s GDP, and it has played the most significant role in doubling the number of tourists visiting Singapore, making it one of the world’s most successful urban development cases.

The benchmarking team plans to visit Singapore’s iconic landmarks, including Marina Bay Sands Hotel, shopping centers, convention centers, and the Esplanade performance venue. Through analysis of how these mixed-use developments transformed Singapore into a global tourism powerhouse, the team aims to establish a successful development direction for Korea’s flagship project, K-Star World.

Additionally, the team will focus on the importance of developing commercial, work, and residential facilities in an integrated manner for successful urban development. They will tour the commercial and work environments connecting Orchard Road, Downtown, and Holland Village, as well as the high-quality residential environments formed around them.

In particular, the team will seek ways to apply successful cases of urban development, where residential complexes are built around commercial and work facilities, to Gyosan New Town. Leveraging Gyosan New Town’s advantage of proximity between work and residence, the city plans to attract leading companies and create quality jobs, making it a model case for corporate attraction.

The second theme is "Creating Innovative Residential Complexes by Easing Regulations."

The delegation will visit "Marina One," a representative example of a "White site" where the government provides a basic blueprint and guidelines while the private sector supplies creative ideas and capital. They will also visit "Pinnacle@Duxton," a successful public housing project adjacent to Marina Bay Sands, and "SkyVille," which achieves an ideal harmony of green spaces and skyline by increasing the floor area ratio based on abundant greenery.

By benchmarking cases where regulatory easing encouraged the adoption of innovative technologies and ideas, and where eco-friendly residential complexes harmoniously combine green spaces and high-rise buildings, Hanam City plans to apply these lessons to its own development projects. The city aims to lead Korea’s most successful development projects based on innovative residential complexes.

Mayor Lee Hyunjae stated, "The years 2025 and 2026 will be extremely important, as they will determine the next 100 years of Hanam City." He added, "Through this benchmarking trip, we will absorb all of Singapore’s successful cases, and with the benchmarking team at the center, we will do our utmost to transform Hanam City into a mixed-use city with high-quality jobs, an innovative residential environment, and a vibrant culture and leisure environment for all."

After confirming concrete methods in Singapore that can be applied to development projects, Hanam City plans to share these cases and disseminate instructions upon returning to Korea, ensuring the realization of effective policies.