Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on possibility of HDB BTO flats taking longer to complete, and the use technology to improve productivity in the construction sector

Nov 2, 2021

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry foresees a trend where HDB BTO flats could take longer than the currently projected four to five years to complete; and (b) how is the Ministry steering construction companies towards increased use of technology to improve productivity and reduce reliance on manual labour.   

Answer:

The COVID-19 pandemic has put the construction industry under significant strain. With the introduction of stringent safe management measures (SMM) at worksites, tightening of border controls for foreign workers and disruption in the supply of building materials, many private and public sector projects have been delayed. The majority of HDB’s Build-to-Order (BTO) projects have been delayed by between 6 to 12 months beyond their Estimated Completion Dates (ECD) originally indicated to buyers.

In the face of these challenges, HDB has been closely monitoring the construction progress of all BTO projects and has rolled out extensive assistance measures to help contractors complete their ongoing projects, to minimise delays to affected flat buyers.

With these efforts and assistance measures, we have been able to minimise the extent of further delays to BTO projects. Thus far, the average waiting time for ongoing BTO projects, including delays brought about by the pandemic, has remained between 4 to 5 years. If the COVID-19 situation does not get worse, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, we do not expect the delays or average waiting time to be further lengthened.

To improve construction productivity and reduce reliance on manual labour, BCA has been working with the industry to adopt the Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) building method on a wider scale. DfMA allows building components to be fabricated off-site in automated facilities, and subsequently assembled on-site. This reduces our on-site workforce, raises productivity, improves workmanship, and reduces dis-amenities to residents near construction sites.

DfMA adoption has doubled over the last three years, from 19% in 2017 to 39% in 2020. We aim to make DfMA the default building method, especially for large projects, as they have more economies of scale for off-site fabrication. To do so, BCA will enhance its Buildability Framework by raising the minimum Buildable Design Score (B-Score) for large commercial, institutional and industrial developments with Gross Floor Area (GFA) of at least 25,000 sqm. Firms can tap on the Productivity Innovation Project (PIP) scheme under the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) to help support the upfront cost of adopting DfMA solutions.

HDB has also worked with BCA to develop productivity plans for BTO projects. Thus far, HDB has implemented a wide range of productivity initiatives, including the adoption of DfMA building methods, and has achieved an improvement of about 25% in site productivity in 2020, compared to 2010 levels.