Debated in Parliament on 9 Jan 2023.
Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the desired number of construction workers required to sustain the level of development in Singapore for the next three years; (b) what is the projected shortfall for construction manpower in 2023; and (c) whether there are plans to help the construction industry automate construction processes and reduce their manpower requirements.
Since the easing of COVID-19 entry requirements on construction workers from March 2022, firms have been able to bring construction work permit holders (WPHs) into Singapore more easily. As of end 2022, the number of construction WPHs in Singapore has exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels by around 15%, as firms catch up on projects delayed due to the COVID-19 situation and take up new projects.
With the refresh of the Built Environment (BE) Industry Transformation Map (ITM), our aim is to improve the construction industry's productivity and use of technology. It is neither desirable nor sustainable for the industry to rely on manpower-intensive construction methods and a large construction workforce to meet our development needs.
In this regard, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been implementing various initiatives to improve the productivity of the construction industry. For example, BCA enhanced the Buildability framework in April 2022 to require the industry to adopt Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) as the default method of construction for large projects. DfMA consists of a continuum of technologies, such as precast and Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC), which shifts construction activities offsite into more productive factory-like settings. DfMA also provides opportunities for firms to further adopt automation and robotics in construction processes. To support firms, BCA has extended the Productivity Innovation Project (PIP) scheme in March 2022, which co-funds up to 70% of the cost premium of newer DfMA technologies.
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