Strain Created by Increased Number of New BTO Flats on Construction Industry

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development in view of HDB's plan to build 25,000 BTO flats a year in 2011 and 2012 (a) how will the Ministry ensure that the construction industry has sufficient capacity to accomplish the projects without compromising on quality; (b) whether there are sufficient workers, tradesmen and professionals to cope with the surge in construction projects; (c) which Government agency is responsible for the productivity and standards of the construction industry; and (d) how will the Ministry address the issue of shortage of dumping grounds for this industry.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: The overall construction demand is not projected to exceed $27 billion per year, for this year or the next two years. This is below the industry's peak demand of $36 billion in 2008. While HDB is stepping up construction, private sector construction demand is expected to slow down. Hence, the construction industry should have sufficient capacity to deliver new public housing flats, which account for about 20% of the overall construction demand.

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MND and the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) work hand-in-hand with the construction industry to boost construction productivity and ensure that quality standards are maintained. Last year, we launched the Construction Productivity Roadmap to steer the construction industry towards reducing its reliance on low-cost foreign workers, and adopting more buildable design and labour-saving construction methods and technologies.

On manpower resources, the current squeeze on foreign workers will impact the construction industry. We are coping. Our current policies on man-year-entitlement and tiered worker levies have some built-in flexibility to allow adequate supply of workers. We have also put in place upgrading pathways to retain the higher skilled and, hence, more productive workers. At the PMET and foremen levels, we have launched several undergraduate and diploma scholarships, diploma sponsorship and apprenticeship schemes to attract new entrants to the construction industry.

As HDB ramps up its BTO programme, we will not compromise on quality:

Firstly, HDB's grading system will continue to closely monitor its contractors;

Secondly, all supervising consultants must adopt a quality assurance system to comply with HDB's specifications and standards;

Thirdly, HDB conducts audit checks during the building works, and also upon completion, before the flats are handed over to flat buyers; and

Lastly, public housing projects are assessed by BCA under the Construction Quality Assessment System, which monitors and guides builders in improving workmanship quality.

As for the issue of dumping ground capacity, there is, in fact, no shortage. The excavated materials from the construction industry are disposed at the Changi Staging Ground, where the materials are transferred from lorries to barges for transport to final landfill sites. A sudden spike in the amount of excavated materials generated by several construction projects involving deep excavations has caused an increase in waiting time for the lorries. HDB has extended the operating hours and added more weigh-bridges to increase the handling capacity. HDB has also increased manpower to manage traffic flow, and worked with contractors to spread out their deliveries to off-peak hours. These measures should relieve the current problem at the Changi Staging Ground. We will continue to monitor the situation.