SINGAPORE will build a massive digital media cluster by 2020 as part of the country's plan to turn itself into a film makers' paradise capable of making Hollywood blockbuster movies heavy on special effects.

A 19-hectare plot of land has already been earmarked for the development of the Mediapolis project, a 200-hectare innovation and R&D hub. It will "add significant scale and depth to Singapore's media infrastructure," Dr Lee Boon Yang, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and Arts, said at the launch ceremony of this year's Asia Media Festival in Singapore earlier this week.

The Mediapolis park, which is about the size of 23 soccer fields, will house soundstages with "green-screen technology," digital media schools, production companies, 24-hour food and entertainment outlets, hotels and Singapore's largest and most high-tech film set.

The nearly US$81-million soundstage facility, the first building in the Mediapolis park, is scheduled to start construction in the first quarter of next year. It will allow film makers and production houses to shoot high-definition and 3D movies like "Bolt," the latest animated film released by Walt Disney.

Lee also announced at the ceremony on Wednesday that the Media Development Authority of Singapore will team up with Hong Kong's Salon Films Group to set up a US$68-million fund to "finance, produce and distribute a slate of feature films, TV series, animation" and video games over the next five years.

The media sector in Singapore, which aims to become a global media hub by 2015, has reported annual turnover of about US$13.4 billion in revenue between 2000 and 2005, contributing 4.5 percent to the country's gross domestic product. The sector employs about 53,500 people.