Increasing Supply for BTO Flats over Next Three Years to Make Up for COVID-19 Construction Delays

Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB can increase the supply of BTO flats by 10,000 units per year for booking in the next three years to make up for the construction delays due to the pandemic since 2020.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Sir, the construction industry is one of the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Disruptions from the circuit breaker last year, coupled with stringent safe management measures imposed at worksites, the tightening of border controls for workers from South Asia and supply chain disruptions impacting a availability of materials and components, have affected private and public sector projects, including HDB's BTO projects. Many will take longer to complete.

We recognise that the delays to the completion of BTO flats have caused inconvenience to flat buyers and affected many of their life plans. We seek their patience and understanding.

HDB is doing its best to work with contractors and consultants to expedite the construction works as much as possible while ensuring that the project quality and safety standards are not compromised. In spite of the challenges faced, we have continued with our BTO launch plans. As I mentioned in my earlier reply, HDB is on track to launch about 17,000 BTO flats in 2021, a higher number than the 14,600 in 2019 and 16,800 flats in 2020.

We will continue to monitor the market situation closely and calibrate the supply of public housing accordingly, to ensure that the flat supply remains responsive to the housing needs of the population.

Going forward, we will continue to maintain a healthy and steady supply of BTO flats annually. There are no plans to reduce the number of flats to be launched for 2022, which we will announce when ready.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio): I thank the Minister for the reply. I echo my colleague, Mr Desmond Choo's feedback. I believe the public will understand but because of this delay, there will likely be this gap or a backlog in demand that will build up over time for these two years. That is why I am urging HDB to consider, if possible, to increase the supply for the next two or three years, per year. This will help to address this gap and stabilise the prices.

Mr Desmond Lee: I thank the Member for his concern. Indeed, as I have articulated in this reply and the earlier reply, we will maintain a steady supply of BTO flats. We will certainly not drop below 17,000 for this year's supply when we go forward. And we will work closely with our contractors to address the issues that they face, including worker shortages, supply chain disruptions and also, work with fellow agencies to ensure that our construction projects, for existing projects, can get back on track, but without compromising the safety standards of the projects nor the quality of the homes that we deliver.