Home upgrading, more cycling tracks and better parks are on the plate for Sembawang residents when the town council pours in $500 million over the next five years to make the neighbourhood a better place to live in.

Unveiling the town council’s plans at an open area next to Woodlands Civic Centre yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said his six-man Sembawang GRC team had ‘fully implemented’ the five-year plan unveiled at the last general election.

He named the 27ha Admiralty Park as one promise made good. Another is Woodlands Waterfront, opened just over a year ago.

The team has also seen to the development of 26km of cycling tracks, which make it safer for both cyclists and pedestrians.

The highlights for the next five years include home upgrading for 150 blocks that will be eligible. Among the first will be Blocks 123 to 131 in Marsiling.

Another 168 blocks are due for neighbourhood upgrading over the next five years, with Blocks 101 to 143 in Marsiling in the first batch.

Mr Khaw also announced that another 5,500 homes will be built in the next five years. They will be a mix of Housing Board, private condominiums and landed property.

He promised that while they will not be higher than Pinnacle@Duxton – the upmarket flats in Tanjong Pagar – the Housing Board blocks will be more modern.

The 31-storey Marsiling Heights, which is being built, gives a preview of what is to come, he said.

There will also be more childcare centres and kindergartens to serve the growing needs of residents.

A mosque will be built in Admiralty to serve the large Muslim community. They account for between 20 per cent and 25 per cent of the residents in the GRC.

‘We’ve always been careful to make sure that their religious needs are well served,’ he said.

There will be at least two more CCs (community clubs/centres) in Woodlands and Admiralty.

Mr Khaw also said that the Transport Ministry is working hard to add more trains to ease the current congestion.

He ended by saying: ‘So long as we keep the Singapore economy growing strongly, there will be money for all the good work we want to do.’

Source: Sunday Times, 24th April 2011

SINGAPORE is still a much cheaper place to build than Hong Kong and London, the director of Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore (DLS) said yesterday – refuting an earlier report that found otherwise.

DLS data shows that at end-Q1 2010, construction costs in Singapore for standard apartments, standard office space and ‘prestige’ office space were lower than those in London, Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong.

‘Cost data recorded by our offices in the region has clearly established that Singapore is the third costliest city to build in (in the region) after Tokyo and Hong Kong,’ DLS director Seah Choo Meng told BT in an interview.

Construction costs in London and Sydney have also been consistently higher than in Singapore, he said.

Mr Seah was responding to a report released two weeks ago by EC Harris that said Singapore is now the most expensive Asian country to build in except Japan and the 10th most expensive worldwide. This was despite a 5-8 per cent drop in tender prices here last year, EC Harris said.

Tender prices here were higher than in Hong Kong and London, according to EC Harris’s international construction cost report covering 50 countries. Switzerland was the most expensive country to build in globally, the report found. Hong Kong was ranked 21st globally while the UK – or London – was ranked 16th.

Yesterday, Mr Seah presented DLS data that shows building costs in Singapore are lower than those in London, Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong.

The two firms collect data from their worldwide offices from the jobs they handle. The EC Harris report did not include values for Japan because the firm did not have any projects there in the past two years.

The differentiation between the DLS and EC Harris data is partly caused by a difference in how much each of them said tender prices in Singapore fell last year.

The EC Harris report put the fall at between 5 and 8 per cent. But DLS put it at 20 per cent.

Mr Seah noted: ‘The Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) record has shown a drop of 15 per cent; Rider Levett Bucknall (another consultancy) indicated a drop of 18.5 per cent while DLS saw a drop in the region of 20 per cent.’

EC Harris also said the Singapore market recovered on the back of sustained demand and strong economic growth – leading to tender price growth in the first six months of the year.

Mr Seah agrees the market recovered, but said tender prices have only climbed by 3 per cent since the start of this year – which means construction prices are still a long way from their peaks after last year’s 20 per cent drop.

Although Singapore is not the most expensive city in Asia in which to build, BCA is looking at how to boost construction cost-efficiency to bridge a gap in productivity between Singapore and other advanced countries, Mr Seah said. The productivity of the construction industry in Singapore is only half of that in Australia’s and one third of that in Japan.

Source: Business Times, 17 Aug 2010

THE Government yesterday launched three mass market residential sites for sale and cut from six to five years the time developers have to complete a housing project.

The sites – in Hougang Avenue 7, at the corner of Punggol Drive and Punggol East, and the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Pasir Ris Drive 4 – are expected to yield about 1,260 units. Their tenders close separately next month.

The three 99-year leasehold plots are the first to have the new five-year project completion period for private residential sale sites applied to them.

From today, all such sites released for sale will have to conform to the new rule, which is to ‘further ensure more timely supply of private housing to meet demand’, said the Housing Board in a statement yesterday.

Experts believe the change – it does not apply to executive condominium (EC) sites which have to be built in four years – will not have a major impact on the market.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han said: ‘In a peak market like now, it’s not a problem at all. Developers usually take three to four years to build a mass market condo.

‘It’s just a precautionary measure. The Government just wants to ensure that what has been tendered out will be completed in five years, so that supply can meet demand.’

Experts note that few developers want to take too long to build on leasehold sites.

‘Based on development trends in the last eight years, we found that the actual completion period for sale sites for private residential developments was generally about four years on average,’ said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Only about 13 per cent of these projects took longer than five years to complete, it said.

Prior to 1997, the project completion period for government residential sites was four to five years. It was extended to eight years in late 1997 due to the then economic crisis, said the URA.

This was cut to six years in 1999 and has remained so, although the Government in last year’s Budget allowed developers to apply to extend completion periods by up to one year with applications having to be made by Jan 21 this year.

Of the sites launched yesterday, the Hougang plot is 15,630 sq m in size with a maximum gross floor area of 43,765 sq m.

The Punggol site is 15,700 sq m in size with an allowable gross floor area of 53,380 sq m. It is earmarked for executive condos and is near Kadaloor LRT station.

The Pasir Ris plot is a short distance from NTUC Downtown East, has a site area of some 20,000 sq m and an allowable gross floor area of 42,000 sq m.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic lecturer Nicholas Mak predicted that the sites would attract less aggressive bids given that they are not near MRT stations.

The Hougang site may attract bids of $320-$370 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), while the one at Pasir Ris may garner bids of $350-$390 psf ppr, he said. The Punggol EC plot, being in a new estate, may draw bids of $250-$290 psf ppr, added Mr Mak.

Source: Straits Times, 5 Aug 2010

Project completion period cut to 5 years to make supply keep up with demand

THE government is cutting the amount of time that developers have to build private residential projects on state land by a year, to ensure that there would be enough homes to meet demand.

It announced this yesterday evening, as it put up three more sites from the confirmed list for tender. They can potentially yield 1,260 units.

All government land sale sites come with a project completion period (PCP) to make sure that developers finish work within a reasonable period of time. The PCP is measured from the date the site is awarded to the date the project obtains Temporary Occupation Permit.

The authorities are reducing the PCP for private residential sale sites to five years from six years, ‘to further ensure more timely supply of private housing to meet demand’. The shorter PCP will apply to sites released for sale from today.

The PCP for executive condominium (EC) sale sites will remain at four years. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) told BT that projects might meet unexpected delays in construction and there will not be sufficient buffer if the PCP for EC sites is cut further.

Market watchers supported the move, although they did not think there would be a significant impact on the market.

DTZ executive director (consulting) Ong Choon Fah said that most developers do want to build their projects as soon as possible to avoid holding costs and unknown market risks ahead. It would also be disadvantageous for them to hold on to 99-year leasehold sites for too long.

Nevertheless, the shorter PCP ‘will give developers an additional impetus’ to complete their projects, she said.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han felt that the government made a prudent move. It is sending a signal to developers, that they should make their projects available quickly to help maintain stability in the property market, he said.

Going by information from URA, the shorter PCP is unlikely to affect most developers. URA said that based on development trends in the last eight years, the completion period for private residential sale sites was about four years on average. Also, none of the private residential projects on sale sites exceeded their stipulated PCP last year.

The shorter PCP will apply to two of the three latest sites up for sale starting today. One is a land parcel at Hougang Avenue 7. The 1.56 hectare site has a maximum permissable gross floor area (GFA) of 471,083 sq ft and can be developed into a 395-unit condominium project. Its tender will close on Sept 17.

The second is a 2-ha plot at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and 4. It has a maximum permissable GFA of 452,086 sq ft and can yield about 380 condominium units. Its tender will close on Sept 30.

The new PCP rule will not apply to an EC site at Punggol Drive/Punggol East up for sale. It is near the Kadaloor LRT station, and has a site area of 1.57 ha and a maximum allowable GFA of 574,577 sq ft. The site can accommodate about 485 units, and its tender will close on Sept 23.

More sites will be rolled out this month. URA will launch another plot from the confirmed list at Petir Road for sale; four sites from the reserve list will be made available for application.

Source: Business Times, 5 Aug 2010

Republic is 10th most expensive country to build in worldwide

(SINGAPORE) Singapore is the most expensive Asian country to build in except Japan and one of the 10 most expensive worldwide, according to a new report from EC Harris.

The consultancy’s international construction cost report, which covers 50 countries, found Singapore is the 10th most expensive country to build in worldwide, on a list topped by Switzerland. Hong Kong, the second most expensive Asian country to build in, is ranked 21st globally.

The report does not include values for Japan, as EC Harris did not have any projects there in the past two years. Generally, tender prices in Tokyo are around 20-30 per cent higher than in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Richard Warburton, EC Harris’s regional head of cost and commercial management in Asia, said Singapore continues to be the most expensive Asian country except Japan to build in despite a drop in tender prices of 5-8 per cent last year.

‘The Singapore market appears to be recovering on the back of sustained demand and strong economic growth,’ he said. ‘We are also seeing localised ‘hot’ markets, such as the substantial amount of new office building fit-out activity that is under way.’

This may create supply chain pressures and lift tender prices further. Mr Warburton expects 3-5 per cent growth in general tender prices over the coming year, although a key factor determining this will be how much commodity prices rise, he noted.

Another property and construction consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall, predicted in April that building tender prices in Singapore could climb 3 per cent this year.

Analysts have said recent hikes in iron ore prices are likely to lead to higher steel prices. Increases in the foreign worker levy and cut in man-year entitlements will also cause construction costs to rise.

According to EC Harris’s survey, which benchmarks the cost of building in each country against the UK, the price of construction in Singapore is almost 7 per cent higher than in the UK, where it fell almost 20 per cent from its peak in the previous year.

Hong Kong is Singapore’s closest Asian counterpart on the expensive list. It ranks second in Asia, at 7 per cent below the UK benchmark.

China ranks fifth among Asian countries, behind South Korea and Thailand. At the other end of the scale, Sri Lanka is the cheapest Asian country to build in, at 27 per cent of the cost of UK construction.

According to Mr Warburton, the greatest uncertainty in tender price inflation in Asia exists in Hong Kong.

Construction workloads and tender prices in Hong Kong rose steadily throughout 2009, driven largely by government spending on infrastructure. Now there is a sense that a period of readjustment is on the way, Mr Warburton added.

EC Harris calculated the figures through a survey of construction costs in 50 countries. The survey was conducted across the consultancy’s offices worldwide, with data collected in cost per square metre format for a wide range of buildings, including industrial, offices, retail, residential and hotels.

Source: Business Times, 4 Aug 2010

But prelim figures for June, upcoming projects paint brighter picture

(SINGAPORE) The value of construction contracts awarded in the first five months of the year was less than hoped for, keeping the building industry on edge.

Nevertheless, authorities are keeping their full year construction demand forecast intact as preliminary June figures and upcoming projects paint a brighter picture of the industry.

According to figures released by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to the public, construction demand from January to May was $8.17 billion. Some 59 per cent or $4.84 billion of this came from the private sector, and the remaining 41 per cent or $3.33 billion was from the public sector.

The demand up to May – compared with BCA’s full year forecast of $21-27 billion – triggered some unease among industry insiders.

‘It looks as though the target of $21-27 billion may not be reached this year,’ said Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) managing partner Winston Hauw yesterday. He was giving an update on how the construction sector has fared at a conference organised by the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas).

He cited other figures from BCA that implied slowing construction demand. The value of contracts awarded in April and May was $2.6 billion, which is around 18 per cent less than the $3.1 billion in the same period last year.

Davis Langdon & Seah director Seah Choo Meng shared similar concerns with BT. ‘Contractors feel that there is still not enough work in the market,’ he said.

Construction demand has come off sharply from the record $35.7 billion in the boom year of 2008. The subsequent economic slowdown forced many private sector projects off the pipeline, and the construction sector was left with excess capacity after completing large jobs.

The arrival of more foreign contractors looking for work as construction demand dries up in markets such as Dubai has exacerbated the situation. ‘Competition is high at the moment,’ said Lum Chang Building Contractors executive director Tan Wey Pin.

While the current situation does not look too promising, Mr Hauw, Mr Seah and Mr Tan hesitated to write off the year’s performance. Construction demand might still meet BCA’s full- year forecast if the public sector awards more contracts later this year, they said. One of the most awaited projects is Stage 3 of the MRT Downtown Line.

Still, there is hope. In response to queries from BT yesterday, BCA shared preliminary figures on the value of construction contracts awarded from January to June – about $11 billion.

Going by the agency’s mid-year review, another $10 billion to $16 billion worth of contracts are likely to be awarded in the second half.

These projects include the widening of Keppel Viaduct and the conversion of the former Supreme Court and City Hall to the National Art Gallery. Contractors will also be needed for the International Cruise Terminal, Lanxess Butyl’s synthetic rubber plant, and various condominium developments.

‘This will bring the total construction demand for this year to $21-27 billion, similar to the original projection released by BCA in January,’ said a BCA spokesperson.

At yesterday’s seminar, Redas launched a new Real Estate Sentiment Index, which it developed jointly with the National University of Singapore’s real estate department.

‘Redas will work even more closely with higher institutes of learning, professional bodies and government agencies to embark on new initiatives in research and executive programmes,’ said Redas president Simon Cheong.

Source: Business Times, 30 Jul 2010

New industry-backed index to measure sentiment shows mood has sobered slightly

(SINGAPORE) In a historic move, the Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore has teamed up with the National University of Singapore’s Department of Real Estate (DRE) to develop a Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI), and it shows a lower reading for the second quarter of this year than for the first quarter.

Developers and industry players continue to express positive sentiments but expect market conditions to be less robust, Redas and DRE said.

More respondents were still positive (rather than negative) on the overall performance of the prime and suburban private residential markets over the next six months but the consensus as indicated by net balances weakened in the second quarter compared with the first quarter.

On the other hand, the net balance for offices improved substantially, in tandem with improving sentiment in this segment in April-June.

The survey also found that 51 per cent of developers polled for Q2 expect price growth for new residential launches, down from 85 per cent in Q1.

About 68 per cent of developers surveyed in Q2 expect more units to be launched over the next six months, down from 83 per cent in the Jan-March period.

The findings of the survey will be officially released this morning at the Redas Property Prospects Update 2010 seminar at Orchard Hotel.

Some market watchers welcomed Redas efforts in coming up with an objective method of gauging the confidence level of senior executives of property developers – and making it public. ‘It’s good to hear from the horse’s mouth,’ said DTZ executive director Ong Choon Fah.

Redas CEO Steven Choo noted that ‘while business expectation surveys are available for the manufacturing and service industries, there is currently no indicator specifically tracking sentiment in the fast-paced real estate market of Singapore’.

Some industry watchers also pointed to the refreshing change at Redas. ‘Previously, something like this, showing a slowdown in sentiment, would have been considered extremely sensitive and developers may have tried to hide it. Now they’re more open about it,’ said an observer.

Mrs Ong said: ‘Releasing the RESI shows just how far Redas has come. It reflects the maturity of the property market and stakeholders. It’s important to give the true market signals to all stakeholders – including home buyers and government – if we’re going to have a sustainable property market based on sound fundamentals.’

Redas and DRE developed the quarterly structured-questionnaire survey, which is conducted among senior executives of Redas member firms – mostly developers but also property consultants, architects, quantity surveyors and other professionals.

Dr Choo, who assumed the post of Redas CEO nearly a year ago, says: ‘The partnership between NUS and Redas has ensured academic rigour and added credibility to the new index. We are confident that in time, RESI will become an authoritative index and a highly-valued forward indicator for the property market, as well as an invaluable tool to guide the market and industry players, including investors and policymakers.’

Redas received about 70 responses for each of the Q1 and Q2 surveys – from largely the same people.

The survey measures respondents’ perceptions of current market conditions/ performance (now, compared with six months ago) and future expectations (over the next six months).

The RESI comprises three indices. The Current Sentiment Index, where respondents are asked to rate overall Singapore real estate market conditions now compared with six months ago, fell from 7.2 in Q1 to 5.8 in Q2. The Future Sentiment Index, where respondents rate overall property market conditions over the next six months, also slipped from 6.4 to 5.9.

As a result, the Composite Sentiment Index, which is the average of the two indices, declined from 6.8 in Q1 to 5.9 in Q2.

The index ranges from 0 to 10, with a score below 5 indicating deteriorating market conditions. A score above 5 shows improving market conditions. The Q2 score shows that developers and industry players continue to express positive sentiments and expect market conditions to remain favourable, but less robust than before.

Source: Business Times, 29 Jul 2010

Shortage of industry professionals spurs BCAA, SISV initiative

THE booming construction industry over the years has created a shortage of qualified surveyors and other specialists.

As such, in a release by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), it was revealed that the BCA Academy (BCAA) and Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) will put in place a number of initiatives to build up and strengthen the pool of building professionals within the industry.

Among the specialists in demand include quantity surveyors, land surveyors, valuers and property managers.

To resolve this, the BCAA and SISV will be jointly introducing more academic programmes such as diploma, specialist diploma and degree courses to train new professionals and to upgrade the skill sets of existing ones.

BCAA will also be working with SISV to initiate more dialogue sessions with firms in the industry to facilitate discussion on developing such capabilities.

To further promote the building profession, BCA and SISV signed a memorandum of understanding to share resources, promote educational programmes and jointly create and implement new products and services to drive the local building industry forward.

John Keung, CEO of BCA, said, ‘I’m confident that this new collaboration will help elevate the occupational profile in the built environment. BCA looks forward to working with SISV to develop more programmes to train personnel at the technical and professional level to meet the needs of the industry.’

Source: Business Times, 27 Jul 2010

Judging panel names it the best tall building in Asia and Australasia

THE Pinnacle@Duxton has been named Asia and Australasia’s ‘Best Tall Building’ by the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat.

HDB’s 50-storey residential project in Tanjong Pagar was named alongside Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and winner for Middle East and Africa at the annual ‘Best Tall Building’ awards.

Europe’s winner was the steel-clad Broadcasting Place in Leeds, United Kingdom, while New York’s 55-storey Bank of America Tower took the Americas award this year.

The buildings were chosen less for their height – the Broadcasting Place in Leeds is just 70m, less than a tenth of the Burj Khalifa – and more for their ‘design and technical innovations, sustainable attributes, and the enhancement they provide to both the cities and the lives of their inhabitants,’ the council said.

It noted that The Pinnacle@Duxton ‘re-defines urban high density living by weaving continuous Sky Gardens on the 26th and 50th stories through all seven of the tower blocks’.

The overall winner of these four regional best tall buildings will be unveiled this October, at an awards ceremony in Chicago. The ceremony will also honour two individuals – William Pederson of Kohn Pederson Fox Associates and Ysrael A Seinuk of Ysrael A Seinuk PC – with lifetime achievement awards. Both were chosen for their contributions to tall buildings; their portfolios include many iconic skyscrapers.

This year’s awards drew an unprecedented number of entries, said the awards committee, headed by Gordon Gill of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Also on the jury were Ahmad Abdelrazaq of Korea’s Samsung, Bruce Kuwabara of Canada’s KPMB Architects, Peter Murray of UK’s Wordsearch, Matthias Schuler of Germany’s Transolar, Mun Summ Wong of Singapore’s WOHA, and Antony Wood from CTBUH.

Source: Business Times, 18 Jun 2010

Eco-friendly projects awarded more floor space under BCA scheme

(SINGAPORE) Going green has its rewards, and some developers have got them in the form of additional floor space for their projects.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) told BT that it has received 37 applications for a scheme that grants eco-friendly buildings more gross floor area (GFA).

The agency has approved some of these requests, from companies such as City Developments (CDL), Soilbuild Group, Ascendas and Parkway Holdings.

BCA and the Urban Redevelopment Authority launched the Green Mark GFA Incentive Scheme in April last year to encourage private developers to go green.

If buildings meet certain Green Mark standards, owners can apply for additional GFA beyond the master plan gross plot ratio control. Developments with the Platinum rating can receive up to 2 per cent more GFA (capped at 5,000 sq m), while those with the Gold Plus rating are eligible for up to one per cent more (capped at 2,500 sq m).

The bonus GFA is not entirely free though – developers still have to pay a development charge or differential premium for the space.

Nevertheless, some developers have found it worthwhile to sign up for the GFA incentive scheme. BCA said that of the 37 applications, 10 were for residential projects, six for commercial developments and the remaining 21 for mixed-use and other types of buildings.

Changi City, developed jointly by Ascendas and Frasers Centrepoint, is a project which received bonus GFA. The developers decided to aim for a Green Mark Gold Plus rating partly because of the incentive scheme, said Ascendas Land (Singapore) CEO Tan Yew Chin.

A few other developers were already eyeing the Platinum or Gold Plus rating before the scheme existed. For instance, Soilbuild had drawn up plans for Solaris at one-north with the Platinum rating in mind and ‘during the course of the design, the Green Mark GFA Incentive Scheme was introduced’, it said.

CDL told BT that environmental sustainability has always been high on its agenda. Its residential project Cube 8 at Thomson Road, which won the Green Mark Platinum award, qualified for 377 sq m of bonus GFA from the scheme. CDL was able to build three more apartments, bringing the total number of units to 177.

Even a healthcare service provider is riding on the green trend. Parkway got an additional 1,447 sq m of GFA at Parkway Novena Hospital, which is likely to receive the Platinum rating. The extra space will go towards ‘better diagnostic and treatment facilities’, a Parkway spokesman said.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han supports the incentive scheme, noting that buildings meeting Green Mark standards would cost developers relatively more to build.

The green movement in Singapore is still in an ‘infancy’ stage compared with other countries such as the United States and Australia, he said. ‘But, we’re getting there.

Source: Business Times, 14 Jun 2010