Speech by Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the BCA Awards 2015
May 14, 2015
Tonight, we honour the achievements of firms, which have achieved excellence in the areas of safety, quality, sustainability, user-friendliness and productivity. Other than showcasing these firms and their projects, we hope to also inspire the others in the sector to follow suit.
Celebrating the achievements
At SG50, our built environment sector has much to celebrate.
For example, we have built more than a million HDB flats, giving Singaporeans roofs above their heads. But it is not more of the same. Each generation of BTO flats improves on the previous generation. Just two weeks ago, I officiated at the Dawson BTO key-handing over ceremony. A very impressive project. Last week, I went back again, on my own, just to check it out again and to talk to the owners and buyers of the flats, without media, HDB staff, the architects and contractors. So that I can talk to them, and find out from them directly about how do they feel about the project. And it is positive all around. After Pinnacle@Duxton and the various Punggol Waterway projects, Dawson BTO has moved public housing to new heights.
The construction and continuing expansion of our MRT network is another very significant achievement. Our public hospital construction programme also makes us proud. After Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and very soon, in a few weeks’ time, Ng Teng Fong Hospital will be opening its doors. And already I heard many commenting that when they walked or drove past Ng Teng Fong Hospital they did not know it was a hospital; they thought it was a condo!
Tonight, I am pleased to launch a new publication by CLC, the Centre for Liveable Cities. It is to commemorate the built environment sector’s contribution to Singapore in the past 50 years. And the title is absolutely apt – “Built by Singapore”.
Changing needs and challenges
But our next 50 years will bring new challenges: ageing population, climate change, even more acute land constraints and shrinking labour force. How should the sector respond to these new challenges?
Obviously, we need to build more efficiently and to make better use of technology. We need to be more imaginative in creating new solutions to overcome these very difficult challenges.
Tonight’s recipients show us the way forward. They are examples of good role models. But we need many more of them.
Let me just highlight four examples.
How to promote Universal Design so that Singapore is a city for all ages and for people of all physical abilities? CapitaLand and its architect, RSP, have consciously set aside a dedicated Family Zone at Westgate shopping mall, with family-friendly amenities, for the very young and the very old. Tonight, they are a Platinum winner of the Universal Design Mark Award this year. I hope to see more developers support such efforts in creating a more inclusive society.
How to make our buildings more energy efficient and our development sustainable? 12 of Mapletree Group’s Green Mark projects are rated Gold and above. Together, they save more than 53 million kWh in annual energy consumption. This is enough energy to power nearly 10,000 Singapore households for a year. They do so by using efficient district cooling plants and double glazed curtain walls. And their upcoming Mapletree Business City II will go further into water conservation. They will have an automatic irrigation system using rainwater harvesting and rain sensors. The water saved can fill eight Olympic-sized swimming pools. Mapletree Group is this year’s BCA Green Mark Champion winner.
How to maximise the use of existing spaces? d’Leedon Condominium was built on the former Farrer Court site. Below the ground are existing piles, two underground MRT lines and two water supply lines. But still, Er. Teoh Eng Sin managed to create two basement carparks and built seven towers of residential units on top. Tonight, d’Leedon has won both the Design & Engineering Safety Excellence Award and the UD Mark Platinum Award.
How to overcome our tight manpower supply and do more with less? P&T Consultants, the architect of the new student hostel at NTU, will be using Prefabricated Pre-finished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) in the project. Entire rooms or apartment units complete with finishes and fixtures will be produced in factories off-site and then installed on site in a Lego-like manner. This is the concept of DfMA or Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. For this pace-setting effort, P&T Consultants is a winner of the Construction Productivity Award tonight. We hope more firms will adopt DfMA as well and help raise our construction productivity.
Joining the sector
Last year, BCA launched an audacious rebranding campaign. It wants the built environment sector to “B.E. the sector of choice” for Singaporeans. It wants to attract and retain more Singaporeans to the sector. How do we do this?
Woh Hup, a local builder established in 1927, shows the way forward. It offers scholarships and internship opportunities. It improved its training and mentoring programmes and instituted a new performance management system. Mr Lim Tian Bao is a BCA-Woh Hup undergraduate scholar who went on to postgraduate studies in geotechnical engineering. He joined Woh Hup 4 years ago. After a valuable overseas work stint, he is now part of the project team working on Jewel Changi Airport, in partnership with Obayashi.
Conclusion
We have built a lot in Singapore. But we still have many challenging projects to build, both above and underground, upwards into the sky and outwards into the sea. We will need strong skills and new capabilities in engineering, technology and design. We will need to innovate and push the frontier of construction.
Let us work together and embark on this exciting and rewarding journey to build Singapore for the future. Thank you.