Singapore hosts research hub from builder of Tokyo Skytree

SINGAPORE -- From remotely controlled cranes to mapping building sites with drones, Singapore is luring companies and startups that can develop advanced technologies in an effort to transform the labor-intensive construction sector.

On Thursday, major Japanese construction company Obayashi, which has built some of Asia's most iconic landmark buildings such as Tokyo Skytree, Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport and Bangkok's Siam Paragon and Iconsiam shopping malls, opened its first overseas research and development center, the Construction-Tech Lab, in the central region of Singapore.