Swiss logistics group Bertschi has broken ground on a second-phase expansion of its facility on Jurong Island, Singapore. An investment of 35 million Singapore dollars ($24 million) is being injected into the project, which will add 45,000 square meters of space to Bertschi’s existing area of 30,610 square meters. The facility will include a dangerous goods warehouse providing 25,000 extra pallet positions and additional drumming services.

Completion is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2017 and will take the group’s total investment in Singapore to 80 million Singapore dollars. The expansion will also see staffing increase by 33% to a total of 100 employees.

The Bertschi Jurong Island Chemical Cluster (JICC) opened in January 2016 and was the Dürrenäsch-headquartered group’s first investment in Asia. “In the past year, we helped to fill a pent-up need in the market and have established ourselves as a reference chemical logistics company in Singapore, serving the specialty chemical sector on the Jurong Island ethylene oxide corridor,” said Lieven Vander Elstraeten, managing director of Bertschi Solutions, Singapore. He added: “We will continue to meet the fast-growing demand for chemical logistics in the region with the strategic advantage of Jurong Island as the chemical hub main gateway to Asia.

Rising demand for specialized chemical logistics services reflects Singapore’s push to develop the specialty chemicals sector, which has seen manufacturing output grow at a compound annual rate of 6.1% over the last ten years, noted Damian Chan, executive director for energy & chemicals at Singapore’s Economic Development Board. “To pursue growth areas, we will continue developing Jurong Island’s infrastructure and services, such that we remain competitive and provide investors with the confidence to grow their business in Asia,” Chan said.