Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at the 64th REDAS Anniversary Dinner
Nov 29, 2023
Introduction
1. I’m delighted to join you for the 64th anniversary of REDAS this evening.
2. It is fitting that the theme of tonight’s dinner is ‘Forging New Ground’. During the pandemic, the Built Environment sector banded together, to deliver projects to homebuyers despite the unprecedented difficulties and uncertainties. We saw examples of how developers worked with the consultants, the builders, worked things out, each give and take, everyone took a bit of a hit, but the value chain pulled through. You have now developed stronger relationships – we see that between developers, consultants, and builders. You have shown that by working collaboratively, we can better support all members in the value chain, in order to deliver our projects. We now have a unique opportunity to forge ahead and build on these strong foundations to develop a sector that is more productive and resilient.
3. Tonight, allow me to will speak on 4 areas: First, transforming the BE sector; Second, rejuvenating and reimagining our city; Third, I’ll share on our efforts to reduce HDB BTO waiting times; and finally, a new pilot to meet the demand for other housing typologies.
Transforming the Built Environment (BE) sector
4. Let me start by speaking about how REDAS has been a key partner in our efforts to transform our sector. You’ve worked with us to develop the refreshed BE Industry Transformation Map, or ITM, which we launched last year, and you continue to work with us on many initiatives to drive productivity and sustainability.
5. One key initiative is CORENET X. CORENET X seeks to: Improve our system of regulatory submissions and approvals for development projects; Drive greater digitalisation in our sector; and Enable professionals and builders to collaborate more closely and more effectively.
6. Today, QPs are required to make separate submissions to different agencies for the regulatory approval of building works, and sometimes it can be protracted, it can be complicated. Under CORENET X, we will streamline the process from what is today, more than 20 approval touchpoints across many different agencies, to three key submission gateways. At each of these three gateways, our QPs will make a coordinated submission, so that agencies can provide a consolidated response. CORENET X is the IT interface – what is really critical is for the QP to make a coordinated submission, a consolidated one, and for the agencies to work together closely, so that we give you one answer. This will save time and help minimise abortive work downstream.
7. CORENET X will also drive the adoption of new digital technologies that can help our firms reap savings. For example, submissions to CORENET X will adopt an open BIM format, that is aligned with common data standards. This will enable our professionals to collaborate digitally on the same building model, allowing potential design conflicts and miscommunications to be resolved much earlier, saving you time and cost, and avoiding conflict and misunderstanding.
8. You have been a strong supporter throughout our CORENET X development journey. For example, QPs had raised to you the need for their payment milestones to be adjusted, because planning and design work will have to be frontloaded under CORENET X. To address these concerns, you are working with other industry associations to adjust the payment milestones in the standard conditions of contract used by your members in REDAS to provide fair renumeration for our consultants.
9. We will soon be soft launching CORENET X next month, with some firms who have put up their hand, and stepped forward. This will then be followed by a voluntary phase for the wider industry from the middle of next year.
10. To reap the full benefits of CORENET X, we will need all built environmental stakeholders to come on board. I invite you to reach out to your partners in the consulting firms, and consider volunteering some of your projects during the upcoming soft launch, and from next year, the voluntary phase of CORENET X. Take this opportunity during the soft launch and the voluntary phase, to learn how to operate the new system; as you’re learning, we are also learning how to improve. Please support them as they familiarise with the new requirements of CORENET X. We can certainly expect teething issues as we roll out this system. Please work with us so that we can manage the transition, and then reap the full benefits of a more integrated, consolidated regulatory submission framework, that should make things better for our QPs.
Rejuvenating and reimagining our city
11. Let me now move to the second part of my speech which is on how developers play an important role as we continue to rejuvenate and reinvent our city.
12. As a small island city state, we have to plan carefully for the long-term to ensure that we can meet the needs of Singaporeans as our society evolves. From the conversations that we have had with Singaporeans, during the Forward Singapore exercise and the recent Long Term Plan Review, many shared with us that they aspire to live closer to their workplaces in the city, and be nearer to amenities.
13. As part of our ongoing Master Plan review, we are therefore planning for more homes and neighbourhoods in more central locations in Singapore. One of these areas is Pearl’s Hill, near Chinatown, where we will inject both HDB and private housing. There will also be a new mixed-use development that will be integrated with Outram Park MRT station, which will offer future residents a variety of services and amenities. Besides Pearl’s Hill, we are also planning for new residential neighbourhoods at Mount Pleasant, the former Keppel Golf Course, and Bukit Timah Turf City where we are studying the possibility of introducing both HDB and private housing.
14. You can find out more about our plans for housing in central locations of Singapore, and share your ideas with us at the exhibition entitled “My City, My Home”. It’s at The URA Centre, ongoing till February next year.
Bringing BTO Waiting Times Back to Pre-Pandemic Norms
15. Let me now move on to the third part which is on BTO waiting times. Over the past two years, my colleagues at HDB have worked hard with our industry partners to ramp up supply and reduce the waiting time for new BTO projects.
16. For 2023, the waiting time for newly launched BTO projects, including the upcoming December sales exercise, will be between 3 to 4 years. This is back to pre-pandemic levels and norms, and good progress from the pandemic peak of 4 to 5 years – where we suffered a lot of delays because of the pandemic. In fact, close to 70% of the flats launched in 2023 have waiting times of 4 years or less.
17. All this is possible by the collective efforts of HDB and its construction partners and their consultants, working hard, thinking out-of-the-box to try to shorten project waiting times, and to do it safely without compromising quality. These measures include, for example, breaking up larger BTO projects into smaller projects so that contractors can better manage their resources and expedite project handovers, prioritising for launch BTO sites where the platform level is ready for construction, and they piloted innovative procurement methods to shorter project construction times. I would like to thank all of you for this partnership.
18. HDB will build on these efforts to launch more Short Waiting Time projects, which come with waiting times of less than 3 years. This will further strengthen our support for Singaporeans, especially first-timers, who want to own their first homes.
Long-stay Serviced Apartment Pilot
19. Let me now move on to the fourth and final part of my speech. Besides increasing the supply of Shorter Waiting Time flats, we recognise that there is also increasing demand for other housing typologies, a demand for more diversity in our real estate landscape.
20. For example, we have seen greater diversity in the housing preferences of Singaporeans, including towards renting. While the vast majority of Singaporeans still aspire to own their own homes, some have shared with us that they are open to renting. But we also need to maintain a healthy rental supply to cater to those who need to rent, for example those waiting to collect the keys to their new homes or for their renovations to be completed, or because they are in some transition, as well as for those who are here to work, study and so on. Some rent from the private market, some rent from the HDB market, others choose Serviced Apartments or co-living housing.
21. That is why we are planning to introduce a new class of Serviced Apartments, to better meet rental demand and to add more diversity to the products available. Serviced Apartments today can cater to those who wish to stay for longer durations. But their 7-day minimum stay requirement means that potential tenants – both Singaporeans and foreigners – must compete with those in Singapore for short stays, including tourists and business travellers.
22. To ensure that Serviced Apartments can be more targeted in meeting demand for longer term stays, we will be piloting Serviced Apartments with a 3-month minimum stay period. These long-stay Serviced Apartments will coexist alongside shorter-stay Serviced Apartments with the existing 7-day minimum stay requirements, and similarly, cannot be strata subdivided for sale.
23. We will start with two sites at Upper Thomson Road and Zion Road under the 2H 2023 Government Land Sales Confirmed List, to allow us to gauge market demand before studying if this can be implemented more widely. These sites will be launched in early December and a proportion of the GFA for each of these sites will be set aside for long-stay Serviced Apartments, with a total potential yield of around 535 Serviced Apartment units. Both sites are located near to existing MRT stations and will provide residents with easy access to the city centre, employment nodes, and various amenities.
24. My colleagues at URA will announce the details in due course. I invite you to participate in the tenders for the pilot sites, to bring new and innovative products to our rental landscape.
Conclusion
25. In closing, let me thank you all once again for your close and abiding partnership over these years, especially during the few years of COVID, where crisis struck, and we all pulled together more closely. Let us continue on this exciting journey of forging new ground ahead. On that note, a happy 64th anniversary, and I wish everybody a happy year end, a blessed Christmas and a happy new year ahead.
26. Thank you and good evening.