THE sounds of squealing tyres or an international pop act may soon be heard from the Changi Exhibition Centre.

The dust from the Singapore Airshow has yet to settle, but plans are already afoot to use the 30ha venue for car launches, construction-related trade shows and even a concert featuring a major international act.

These will be in addition to April's Formula Drift event, in which more than 40 experienced drivers will try to outdo each other in sending their cars into a sideways slide at over 100kmh.

Mr Jimmy Lau, managing director of Singapore Airshow & Events which runs the centre, declined to give details of these plans and the number of people the shows will draw.

But he confirmed that at least a dozen motoring-related events featuring key luxury car brands have been lined up for this year.

These events will range from launches of new models to "customer appreciation" days for a select group to test-drive new car models.

Event organisers could create temporary lanes on the 90,000 sq m of tarmac at the site, said Mr Lau.

A $100 million permanent race track, likely to be between 2.8km and 3.5km long, will also be built next to the centre by 2011.

At least one carmaker has confirmed its interest in the site as a possible venue: BMW Asia spokesman Michael Lim said the site was "excellent" for its advanced driver training programme.

He said: "It has uncluttered space, panoramic views that are breathtaking and facilities that are brand new."

The centre also hopes to continue serving the aviation industry in the run-up to the next Singapore Airshow in 2010, for instance, by functioning as a back-up facility for private jets when Formula One rolls into town this September.

Mr Lau's company and the Singapore Tourism Board are now trying to talk the organisers of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition into holding their annual event here instead of in Hong Kong, where it has been for the past two years.

Local exhibition organisers and other companies The Straits Times spoke to said they were still assessing the viability of the space for events.

They agreed that its vast area and seaside location were a boon, and that the site was good for large trade shows and marine-related events.

But they also pointed to its distance from downtown and its lack of food outlets and shops as possible turn-offs.

Mr Lau said such amenities would not be built any time soon, but that they would be set up when events are held.

He added that the centre would work on, for example, increasing the number of boarding points for shuttle services and the efficiency of security checks.

This story was first published in The Straits Times on Feb 27, 2008.