Onsite supervision of Sizeable Projects

Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources for sizeable projects undertaken by his Ministry whether there are specifications given to contractors on the frequency of onsite supervision which the contractors must conduct and, if so, what is the frequency specified.

The Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources): Mr Speaker, Sir, all construction works in Singapore, whether it is undertaken by the MEWR family, other public agencies, or the private sector, must comply with environmental standards prescribed by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and PUB, the National Water Agency.

NEA regulates the maximum permissible noise levels for construction work. NEA also requires contractors to conduct weekly checks for mosquito breeding within their construction sites and to put in place preventive measures. Contractors have to comply with PUB's requirements to implement earth control measures (ECMs) by engaging a Qualified Erosion Control Professional (QECP), to design and supervise ECMs throughout the construction period, to prevent silt from construction sites from being washed into our waterways and waterbodies during heavy rains. NEA and PUB leverage technology to complement physical checks by NEA and PUB officers on the sites. For example, all construction sites are required to install noise meters, while online CCTV cameras and sensors to detect silty water are installed at the drainage outlets of major construction sites to detect the quality of discharge.

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All construction sites with contract sums of above $10 million are required to employ an Environmental Control Officer (ECO). The ECO will be required to develop a Site Environmental Control Programme for the construction site to address potential environmental issues such as noise, air and dust pollution; earth littering and siltation of drains; breeding of mosquitoes and rodents; proper waste management and provision of toilet facilities. The ECO is expected to carry out site inspections to ensure measures drawn up under the Site Environmental Control Programme are adhered to. He is expected to be on site for at least 15 hours a week, while for projects with contract sums above $50 million, he will have to be on site for 40 hours a week. If any irregularities are observed during his inspections, he is required to identify and report these conditions/situations to the contractor, together with recommendations on remedial measures to be taken to prevent recurrence.

I wish to assure Mrs Chiam that the Ministry, together with NEA and PUB, takes a serious view on environmental and water pollution, and will continue to work with our stakeholders and partners to ensure a clean environment for Singapore. The public can contact PUB and NEA through their respective 24-hour hotlines to provide feedback on these issues.

Mrs Lina Chiam: Sir, I thank Ms Grace Fu for answering the question. I would just like to ask if there are any penalties for contractors if they default in their supervision.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: I thank the Member for that question. There are penalties under various regimes, whether they are for mosquito breeding, noise, siltation, and so on. Various penalty regimes are applied on contractors.