Australia, Singapore collaborating to build the Southeast’s smart cities of tomorrow

30 May 2025

In recent years, Australia has moved to engage more closely with Asean. It has since launched its South East Asian Economic Strategy to increase trade and investment with regional neighbours, particularly in key sectors such as clean energy, tech and infrastructure. Just last year, the Australian government also launched a A$2 billion loan facility to encourage Australian business investment into the region.

Singapore, as Southeast Asia’s business and innovation hub, is central to the region’s development and Australian firms are in the box seat to support a lot of this activity, thanks to trade agreements between the two nations. Likewise, Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 and Smart Nation 2.0 are energizing sectors such as smart cities and sustainability.

Up and coming new projects will bring about new supply chains

Exciting projects on the horizon will reinvigorate the region with new supply chains and Australian firms specialising in AI, sustainable construction, green technologies and transport solutions can do well by tapping into Singapore’s forward-thinking market. Notable projects in the pipeline include:

A S$19 billion solar project to export power from Australia to Singapore that’d supply up to 15% of the city-state’s energy needs by the 2030s
The Punggol Digital District (PDD), dubbed as Singapore’s take on Silicon Valley, is slated to be the city’s first smart district armed with facial recognition technology and autonomous delivery robots

Singapore and Australia governments helping to drive urban innovation
To support sustainable infrastructure and the clean energy transition, the Australian government has approved a US$50 million investment into the Green Investments partnership (GIP) under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P).

In the same vein, Australian businesses aiming to align their solutions with Singapore’s Industry Transformation Maps can access various funding initiatives including:

The BuildSG Transformation Fund (BTF) that supports transformative initiatives in the built environment sector
Schemes under the Singapore Green Plan 2030, such as The Cities of Tomorrow R&D programme that seeks to develop R&D solutions to address challenges cities face

So how can SMEs leverage these emerging opportunities?

Start by mapping the ecosystem within your industry to identify major projects and build strategic partnerships around these.
Leverage grants and initiatives and collaborate with eligible firms if necessary.
Develop a clear narrative about your firm’s offerings and the role you can play in these new supply chains.

As infrastructure investments accelerate across the region, opportunities are abundant and SMEs have a crucial role to play to support these new developments. The time to act is now, to position your firm for growth and success in this evolving landscape.

Companies offering smart city solutions have a unique opportunity to position themselves in upcoming strategic ventures. Engaging in government-led initiatives will also open the doors for expansion across Southeast Asia and pave the way towards sustainable urban development in the years to come.

This five-part series explores how SMEs can unlock growth by tapping into stronger Australia–Singapore ties and shared momentum in innovation, AI and smart cities. The insights are powered by Via Communications Group: a communications agency focused on supporting international businesses with their cross-border communications needs across Asia. You can check them out at wearevia.com

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