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Laws to cut amount of material used in construction projects being drawn up

AN AMBITIOUS new plan to cut Singapore’s dependence on sand and granite will aim to halve the use of concrete in construction projects within the next five years.

New laws being drawn up as part of the Sustainable Construction Masterplan will limit how much concrete each project can use, and tell companies how to use alternative materials.

Projects which employ sustainable construction material - such as steel, dry walls, glass and metal cladding - could be cleared faster, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said yesterday.

Ongoing projects which switch to alternative designs and materials will gain too - such as in the approval of amendment plans.

The BCA will, over the next few months, review current British specifications for manufactured steel and look at adopting international standards.

Building safety, it stressed, will not be compromised.

The unveiling of the masterplan comes in the wake of Indonesia’s ban on land sand exports, which took effect in February.

While there is no official ban on granite exports, the Indonesian navy has detained several boats ferrying the material to Singapore.

This has cut off the annual supply of 6-8 million tonnes of sand and 10 million tonnes of granite - causing prices of both to skyrocket here.

In the immediate aftermath of Indonesia’s actions, the Singapore Government urged the construction industry to cut its reliance on sand and granite.

The two materials are the main components of concrete, used by 95 per cent of the building projects here.

Sand now costs about $60 a tonne, up from about $20 before the ban, while granite is going for $70 a tonne, up from $25.

Ready-mixed concrete has surged to between $180 and $200 a cubic metre from the earlier $70.

Reassuring the industry yesterday, Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu said concrete prices could drop soon.

From next month, the BCA may cut its stockpile release price for granite, Ms Fu said during the launch of a three-week exhibition on sustainable construction at the URA Centre in Maxwell Road.

She added that the Government has released sand and granite from national stockpiles and is also seeking other supply sources.

And a granite quarry in Pulau Ubin will reopen in about three to six months - pending studies on the impact to the environment and wildlife.

But these are not long-term solutions.

‘The disruption in the supply of concreting sand and granite from Indonesia is a wake-up call for the industry to switch to sustainable construction as much as possible and as soon as we can,’ she said.

Private developers The Straits Times spoke to welcomed the BCA’s intention to reduce the release price of granite.

But they added that they are still finding it difficult to share the burden of the increased cost of construction with their contractors.

The Government has urged private developers to follow its example of sharing up to three-quarters of the increase in the cost of sand and granite for ongoing public sector projects.

Mr Chia Hock Jin, executive director of the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore, said members have been slow to respond to the request.

‘Not all developers will be able to afford footing three-quarters of the increase in costs,’ he said. ‘The Government should allow developers to determine the amount they should foot on a case-by-case basis.’

WAKE-UP CALL

‘The disruption in the supply of concreting sand and granite from Indonesia is a wake-up call for the industry to switch to sustainable construction as much as possible and as soon as we can.’MINISTER OF STATE FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRACE FU

Source : Straits Times - 24 Apr 2007