BUILDING OF HDB FLATS

BUILDING OF HDB FLATS

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(Duration of BTO projects): **

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Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for National Development (a) how confident is HDB of its ability to complete the building of flats in two and a half years when some projects took more than five years to complete; (b) how much room does HDB have to change strategy by concentrating on building flats without frills; and (c) for the last 20 Build-To-Order (BTO) projects completed by the HDB, what were the shortest and longest time taken to complete building the new flats.

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Mr Mah Bow Tan: Typical Build-To-Order (BTO) projects comprising five blocks of not more than 20 storeys took an average of 32 months to complete in the last two years. Taller blocks will generally take more time. Construction may also take longer if it is affected by factors such as poor soil conditions, site constraints or complex design features. While the longest construction time for a typical BTO project over the last 20 BTO projects was 42 months, the shortest construction time was just 26 months.

HDB flats are already highly standardized and functionally-designed to facilitate buildability. Nonetheless, HDB is working with its contractors and suppliers to shorten construction period through other means. By increasing resources, enhancing and streamlining work processes, and raising site productivity, HDB is confident that its contractors will be able to build and deliver most of the flats in about 2.5 years (30 months), without compromising quality and structural safety.

Beyond shortening construction time, HDB has explored other ways to help flat buyers to get their new flats faster after booking their flats. For example, HDB will bring forward activities such as preparing building designs for tender so construction can commence soon after the project launch. It is estimated that buyers of typical BTO projects launched in mid-2011 onwards will generally need to wait for 2.5 years to collect their keys after booking their flats.

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