SINGAPORE – Singapore’s newest attraction is no theme park or resort, but an under-construction tech park in the country’s north-eastern tip.

Punggol Digital District (PDD) may not be slated for completion until 2026, but that has not stopped curious visitors from exploring the area.

On the first two weekends of March, The Straits Times observed many visitors – most of them families with children under the age of 10 – posing for photos and peeking at cordoned-off areas of the futuristic development.

One such visitor was software engineer Norman Yeo, 26, who spent two hours walking from his home in Hougang to PDD and the nearby Coney Island.

“Singaporeans like new things and new MRT stations, but it’s curious because there are not many shops open here yet,” he said.

Thus far, a small number of tenants such as Japanese lifestyle brand Muji and budget retailer Daiso have opened at Punggol Coast Mall, as well as eateries Sushi-Go and Astons.

Part of the area’s appeal stems from limited weekend “domestic tourism” options, said visitors.

“Singapore doesn’t have so much going on, what else would people do with their weekends?” said Mr Elston Aw, 29, a software engineer and Ang Mo Kio resident visiting the area for the first time. “If you open an air-conditioned space, Singaporeans will fill it.”

PDD’s distinctive architecture as Singapore’s first smart district is another key draw.

Spanning 50ha of land, it will host a business park, hotel, the Singapore Institute of Technology’s (SIT) new campus and Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency building.

Mrs Yang Han, 38, who came from Lavender with her husband and young son, said: “We are architects, so we try to check out places that are new, and also to find a place for our son to run around on weekends.”

She added that PDD’s open-air design and room for many communal spaces were reminiscent of the earlier work of Singapore-based architecture studio Woha.

Woha was the masterplan designer and lead consultant in the planning and construction of th...