Debated in Parliament on 12 Sep 2022.
Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry has data on the main reasons that owners of commercial or institutional buildings are not tapping into the Accessibility Fund to have barrier-free access for their buildings; (b) if so, what are they; and (c) how can the Ministry encourage such owners to install basic accessibility features without having to wait for addition and alteration works required by BCA to be carried out.
The Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Accessibility Fund (AF) provides funding support for private building owners who undertake voluntary upgrading of their buildings to improve accessibility. The AF co-funds up to 80% of the construction cost of basic accessibility features, such as ramps, lifts and accessible toilets, and up to 60% of the construction cost of Universal Design features, including grab bars, child-friendly sanitary facilities and braille/tactile features.
Based on feedback that BCA has received, the reasons why building owners do not tap on the AF to carry out basic accessibility upgrading include cashflow concerns when undertaking costlier works such as lift installation, and site or space constraints in older buildings.
To help building owners with the cashflow for costlier works, BCA has enhanced the AF to provide an interim payment option for projects that involve lift installation and have a minimum value of $200,000 funding supported by the AF. Building owners can make a claim for reimbursement of up to 70% of the total supported funding during the implementation of the project, with the remaining amount to be reimbursed after all accessibility upgrading works have been completed.
To accelerate accessibility upgrading in older buildings, BCA will also require owners of non-barrier free commercial and institutional buildings with a Gross Floor Area of more than 500 square metres to provide basic accessibility features whenever addition and alteration works are carried out in any part of the building. BCA will implement this requirement in early 2023.
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