Current and Projected Consumption of Concrete in Singapore till 2025

Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for National Development given that concrete is one of the largest emitters of CO2, (a) how much concrete is consumed in Singapore for the last five years; (b) what is the projected consumption of concrete till 2025; (c) whether there are plans to reduce concrete usage with better structural designs and use of natural materials; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider a framework for a needs-only basis for the use of concrete for essential structural and load-bearing requirements.

Mr Desmond Lee: Singapore consumed an average of 11.5 million cubic metres of concrete per year over the last five years. Concrete consumption is projected to remain within the range of 10.5 million to 12.2 million cubic metres per year until 2025.

BCA prescribes minimum environmental sustainability standards for buildings under the Building Control (Environmental Sustainability) Regulations. Projects can meet these requirements by making efficient use of concrete in the building design and using sustainable and recycled materials in concrete elements of a building. Under the Building Control (Buildability and Productivity) Regulations, BCA also requires all residential non-landed developments to use non-concrete drywalls for internal partitions between rooms. On top of this, BCA’s Green Mark scheme recognises projects that go beyond the regulatory requirements, for example, by using alternatives to concrete, such as Mass Engineered Timber.

As part of the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, BCA will place greater emphasis on reducing concrete use in the design and construction of buildings.