Singapore EXPO

Singapore EXPO occupies a large site at 1 Expo Drive in Tampines, in the eastern part of Singapore a single MRT stop from Changi Airport. It opened on 4 March 1999, built at a cost of S$220 million to replace the exhibition halls at the old World Trade Centre, which were being redeveloped; the new venue had to exceed the 34,000 sqm of indoor space being lost. It is now the largest convention and exhibition venue in Singapore, and its scale is what allows the city to host shows such as Food and Hotel Asia and the Singapore FinTech Festival without splitting them across sites. The centre has ten multipurpose halls of 10,000 sqm each, giving more than 100,000 sqm of column-free, ground-level, interconnected floor. Halls 1 to 6 formed the original building, with ceilings up to 16 m and air-conditioned walkways linking each hall; Halls 7 to 10 and The Max Pavilion were added on 15 September 2005 across Expo Drive, connected by a sheltered walkway. Ten conference halls of 89 to 844 sqm seat 150 to 1,000 people, and smaller meeting rooms take 15 to 125. Recent additions broaden the offer: MAX Atria, opened in March 2012, added environmentally rated conference space and was an early venue to provide free wireless internet; Arena @ Expo in Hall 7 is a 6,700-seat concert venue upgraded in 2025; and Apex @ Expo in Hall 1, introduced in 2026, seats up to 9,000 with a permanent stage and tiered seating. The architecture by Cox Richardson Rayner is deliberately industrial - deep clear-span sheds with service pits, heavy floor loading and lorry access - because the priority was column-free space and load capacity rather than spectacle. A 2,200-vehicle car park converts into 25,000 sqm of outdoor exhibition space. Access is by the MRT to Expo Station on the East West and Downtown lines, a short walk from the halls.