Outcomes and Disbursals of Construction Productivity and Capability Fund

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for National Development (a) what are the outcomes of the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF); (b) what is the amount of funds disbursed to date; (c) what is the productivity growth of the construction sector from 2010 to date; (d) what are the examples of how the Fund has helped these firms to improve their workforce quality; and (e) what lessons are learnt from the 10 years of implementing this Fund.

The Construction Productivity and Capability Fund, or CPCF, has helped to raise productivity and increase capabilities in the Built Environment (BE) sector. Our target is to increase site productivity by 20 to 30%, compared to 2010 levels, by 2020.

Since 2010, we have disbursed close to two-thirds of the $850 million set aside for the CPCF. Through CPCF funding, we have supported over 10,000 BE firms to adopt productive technologies, build capabilities and develop their workforce. For example, under the Productivity Innovation Project scheme, we have co-funded up to 70% of the qualifying costs of productive technologies such as Design for Manufacturing & Assembly (DfMA). We are on track to achieve our target of 70% DfMA adoption by 2025 under the Construction Industry Transformation Map. Site productivity had also improved by 17.6% by 2019, compared to 2010 levels.

To attract more locals to join the BE sector, we have a suite of scholarship and sponsorship programmes under the CPCF for students to pursue relevant BE-related disciplines at the University, Polytechnic and ITE levels. The scholarship and sponsorship fees are co-funded by firms who provide job placements for the scholarship or sponsorship recipients upon graduation. Since 2010, we have awarded more than 3,200 scholarships and sponsorships to local students.

We have continually reviewed our programmes and refreshed them to keep up with industry needs and advancements in technology, so as to better support the industry. For example, we have progressively raised the productivity outcomes that firms need to achieve in order to qualify for funding under CPCF schemes. The equipment and training courses that are supportable under CPCF have also been continually updated over the years. In terms of support for digitalisation, we have moved from funding firms just using Building Information Modelling (BIM) software to those collaborating digitally across multiple stages of the building lifecycle through Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD). These investments that our firms have made with CPCF funding support enabled them to cope better during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, consultancy firms were able to continue working from remote locations during the Circuit Breaker period last year.

Our transformation of the BE sector is an ongoing effort, and we need to press on, working closely with industry, to emerge stronger from COVID-19.