Singapore Highlights Positive Outlook For Construction Industry
We will continue to invest in infrastructure and build capability in the construction industry: SMS Grace Fu.
Speech by Ms. Fu Hai Yien, Senior Minister of State for National Development, at the Bca-Redas Construction & Property Prospects 2010 seminar, 13 January 2010 at Orchard Hotel.
Mr Quek See Tiat
Chairman
BCA,
Dr John Keung
CEO
BCA,
Mr Chia Ngiang Hong,
First Vice-President
REDAS,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.
I am pleased to be here today at the BCA-REDAS Construction & Property Prospects 2010 Seminar.
Performance of Construction Industry in 2009
In 2009, the construction sector enjoyed strong double-digit growth for the third consecutive year, achieving a record level of on-site construction activity or output of about $30 billion. This was driven by exceptionally strong construction demand in the preceding two years.
However, the global financial crisis had a considerable impact on the construction industry last year, especially on private sector demand. In 2008, we saw a record high of $35.7 billion worth of contracts awarded. This moderated to $21 billion in 2009, out of which 64% were public sector contracts. The government had supported the sector by advancing $1.3 billion worth of small and medium-sized projects.
Outlook for the Construction Industry
For 2010, the Ministry of Trade & Industry has projected a GDP growth of 3-5%. This will translate to a gradual pick-up in the private sector construction demand. To support the industry, SPRING enhanced the business financing schemes in 2009 to facilitate firms’ access to credit. This scheme will be extended with revised terms in tandem with the economic recovery. Our construction firms can continue to tap on this assistance. To facilitate the cash-flow of contractors and consultants, government agencies will continue to make more frequent and prompt payment for work done. The agencies have also lowered the quanta of security deposits, and they are now capped at 1.25% and 2.5%, depending on the project value.
The Government will continue to invest in infrastructure works. Public sector works will include large public infrastructure projects such as the Downtown Line Stage 3 and various major road works. In addition, the industry can look forward to more tendering opportunities in building projects. This will include the construction of new HDB flats to meet the ongoing demand for public housing, the upgrading and development of new educational and healthcare facilities, and major industrial projects such as the LNG Terminal, Fusionopolis 2A and Seletar Aerospace Park.
Looking forward, we expect to see a sustained level of construction demand over the next 2 – 3 years. BCA has projected that the value of construction contracts to be awarded in 2010 will be between $21 and $27 billion, and between $18 and $25 billion for 2011 and 2012.
Greening our Buildings – a Key Growth Area
To sustain and grow the industry in the medium term, the industry should go beyond traditional construction. It must move into the cutting edge of technology and build capabilities in the key growth area of Green Buildings. In this regard, we have introduced incentives schemes and training programmes to build capability and grow the pool of professionals needed. Let me elaborate.
Green Incentives
As part of the 2nd Green Building Masterplan, we launched two new incentive schemes in April 2009, namely, the Green Mark GFA Incentive Scheme and the Green Mark Incentive Scheme (GMIS) for Existing Buildings. The response to date has been encouraging. A total of 19 applications for these two schemes have been received and they are being evaluated. I encourage the industry to actively tap on these schemes to pave the way for the greening of our built environment.
Technology to Facilitate Green Buildings
The industry can also tap on 3-D modeling technology and adopt the Building Information Model (or BIM) to facilitate the design of green buildings. BIM allows green building professionals to design, build and manage buildings on a lifecycle basis seamlessly. It can also analyse a building’s energy needs and consumption to improve energy efficiency. To encourage a greater adoption of BIM, BCA will accept the electronic submission of BIM architectural building plans from this month. Through the use of BIM, the industry will be able to reap the benefits of better coordination, less rework and achieve cost savings.
Nurture Green Professionals through New Degree Courses
On manpower development, we need to nurture a ready pool of green professionals through new degree and post graduate courses.
BCA, in collaboration with local and foreign tertiary institutions, will introduce two new courses at the tertiary level.
First, the BCA Academy together with SIM University and the Singapore Polytechnic will develop a Bachelor degree programme in Integrated Events and Sustainable Facilities Management, which focuses on green systems maintenance and management. This programme will enable the large pool of diploma holders working in the Events and FM sectors to upgrade their capability, especially in green building systems and technology. BCA will be signing an MOU with SIM University and Singapore Polytechnic later today. (Note: The MOU signing is scheduled to take place just after SMS’s speech.)
Secondly, BCA Academy will be collaborating with the University College of London (UCL) to conduct a Master of Science degree programme in Facility and Environment Management in Singapore. This post-graduate level programme, which is targeted at leaders and senior management in the FM industry, will help reinforce their knowledge of financial management, asset planning, strategic development and management principles and practices. Such internationally recognised certifications will allow our green professionals to meet the needs of the industry and the region.
Attracting Talent
Beyond nurturing the existing pool of professionals, we need to attract talent, train them well and prepare them to take on leadership roles to lead the industry. At the entry level, BCA will enhance the BCA-Industry Built Environment Scholarship to attract the talents.
The BCA-Industry Built Environment Scholarship has been gaining interest among students and industry sponsors alike. Last year, there were 19 scholarships awarded by 13 industry firms. This year, we will be increasing the value of the scholarships to $14,000, up from the current $10,000 per year. With the enhancements to the scholarship scheme, we hope to attract more and better caliber students to join the industry and also to encourage more firms to partner BCA in this talent development programme to build leadership in the industry.
To attract more Singaporeans to take on engineering as a profession, the Professional Engineers Board (PEB) has recently expanded the list of recognized qualifications, from about 1,100 to 1,800, for registration as Professional Engineers. This expanded list includes the full lists of qualifications accredited by various overseas accrediting organisations from countries such as Australia, UK, Canada, USA, and also new lists from China and India. This allows our students who are aspiring to be engineers more options, and also expands the overseas pool of engineers that we can tap on. BCA and PEB are also working on promoting engineering as a rewarding lifelong career. The aim is to provide our engineers with an attractive and sustainable career option, and encourage them to stay on in the industry to contribute to the development of Singapore.
Conclusion
The construction sector is a key economic growth sector and is of strategic importance in supporting the future development of Singapore. It is therefore imperative to tackle the challenges facing the industry so that we can capitalise on key growth areas to enhance its longer-term competitive edge and business sustainability. With continual manpower development and technological advancement, we can establish a strong and resilient construction industry that helps propel our economic growth and meet our environmental responsibility.
I wish all of you a prosperous year ahead.
Thank you.
Topics: construction, demand, Downtown Line Stage 3, economic development, economic growth, Economy, employment, Fusionopolis 2A, GDP, Governance, government, government agencies, Green Jobs, Greening our Buildings, gross domestic product, health care, heath, industry, infrastructure, investment, LNG Termina, Public Sector, Seletar Aerospace Park, Singapore
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