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The Singapore government said on Wednesday that it will release sand from its stockpiles to ensure that the construction industry has a steady supply, after Indonesia banned all sand exports to Singapore last week.

Singapore’s property market is booming, giving a boost to the construction sector which has slumped for several years. However, Indonesia’s ban on sand exports is expected to lead to higher costs as Singapore will need to find new suppliers.

‘The Building and Construction Authority expects the price of sand to rise due to higher transportation cost involved in shipping sand from distant sources,’ the Ministry of National Development said in a statement, adding that the release of sand from government stockpiles would help to stabilise sand prices.

Singapore said last week that Indonesia had decided to ban all sand exports due to environmental concerns and the need to protect its borders. The ban in sand exports has hit Singapore-listed construction stocks on fears of a slowdown in the construction sector, which is recovering after years in the doldrums. — REUTERS

Source : Business Times - 31 Jan 2007

CapitaLand, South-east Asia’s biggest property firm, said on Monday that its business had not been hit by higher sand costs after Indonesia last week banned sand exports to Singapore.

Singapore is among the biggest importers of Indonesian sand, once used for land reclamation and now in strong demand as Singapore’s construction industry recovers after years in the doldrums.

‘Over the past couple of years we had anticipated that construction cost would rise. In addition, we had also earlier sealed the construction contracts for all our ongoing projects,’ Patricia Chia, chief executive of CapitaLand Residential Singapore, said in a presentation to journalists.

Neighbouring Indonesia has banned all sand exports, citing environmental concerns and the need to protect its borders.

The Singapore Government said it does not expect the ban to have a significant impact on the construction sector thanks to other suppliers.

CapitaLand plans to launch 1,000 to 1,200 residential units this year, after selling 954 units worth $1.23 billion (US$800 million) last year, Ms Chia said. The firm sold 882 units worth $1.09 billion in 2005. — REUTERS

Source : Business Times - 29 Jan 2007

Some hope to find new sources, others are prepared to shut down business

BARGES carrying thousands of tonnes of sand are unloaded every day at landing terminals in Pasir Ris and Tuas.

But in just over a week, this could grind to a halt as Indonesia’s ban on land sand exports kicks in after Feb 5.

After that date, the fate of the sand importers here - there are fewer than 10 of them - remains to be seen, but they are likely to be hit hard.

Some are already preparing for the worst.

The manager of Bee Huat Sand & Granite, Mr Steven Neo, said: ‘If there is no sand, our operations will cease.’

He added that it is still too early to say how badly the company will be hit, but the firm is ‘prepared’ to shut down its sand business and let go some 40 to 50 employees.

It is unclear whether these companies will have a role in selling or trading sand from the stockpile belonging to the Government, which will be released if necessary to meet any temporary shortage.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is now looking into sourcing sand from other countries in the region.

Meanwhile, Mr Neo’s company is not just sitting around. While waiting for the Government to prepare the ground, it is making its own contacts with suppliers.

‘We don’t wait for the Government to give instructions. We approach companies and ask them to speak to the authorities there,’ he said.

The BCA is also meeting sand importers and explaining the situation to them to allay their concerns.

Singapore’s construction industry imports between six and eight million tonnes of sand a year, almost all of it from Indonesia.

In the longer term, the BCA hopes to wean the industry from its reliance on sand to make concrete for construction and get it to use steel in a bigger way instead.

Steel is now more common in high-rise buildings here.

If reliance on sand can be cut back by 60 to 70 per cent, these importers may end up with much less to work with.

Source : Straits Times - 26 Jan 2007

INDONESIA’S ban on sand exports will not result in any delay in Housing Board projects under construction, nor will it have a significant impact on the cost of building the flats.

Home owners will also not be asked to pay more for the upgrading projects in public housing because of the ban. Indonesia is Singapore’s sole supplier of the key building resource material.

A spokesman for the board said that the sand needed for these and upcoming projects can be met from existing supplies and if necessary, from HDB’s stockpile of sand.

HDB will also be obtaining sand from other sources to address the supply situation in the longer term.

By taking these steps, the spokesman said the board ‘does not expect the ban on sand to have a significant impact on the overall development cost of HDB flats’.

He added that in any case, the selling prices of HDB flats are based on their market value rather than cost.

This year, 3,000 to 4,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats are being offered by HDB in the Sengkang and Punggol area, while upgrading works are in progress in 19 precincts.

Cost issues aside, the spokesman said that HDB has also been studying refinements in its construction practice to minimise the use of concreting sand.

Alternative designs and materials being used in new public housing developments include steel piles, dry partition walls, prefabricated toilets, glass facades and metal parapets.

To help the building industry move away from its heavy reliance on sand, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is also stepping up plans to train the workforce in steel-based construction techniques.

If the industry makes a complete switch and 70 per cent of all building projects are built using structural steel, BCA estimates about 15 per cent of the workforce will have to be trained in steel construction.

This involves re-training existing workers and attracting new ones.

‘We will be increasing the capacity of steel-related trade tests at our Overseas Test Centres,’ said a BCA spokesman.

The four centres in India and five in Bangladesh are to be operational by year’s end.

This response followed industry-wide concerns that the ban would dampen the industry, which is expecting $19 billion worth of contracts this year.

Currently, Singapore imports about six to eight million tonnes of sand from Indonesia a year. Industry players estimate price hikes of 30 per cent from the current $20 per tonne in the future, which is why BCA is encouraging the industry to move to steel-based construction.

For example, in place of concrete floors, metal decks can be used, topped with a thin layer of concrete. This reduces concrete use by about 30 to 40 per cent.

This is the right direction for the industry, said Dr Teo Ho Pin, MP for Bukit Panjang and Mayor of North West District, who has spoken up often in Parliament on issues related to the industry.

The necessary training is available, said Dr Teo, but attracting professionals - especially local workers in experienced supervisory positions - is the difficulty.

But he saw a silver lining - the transition to steel-based construction provides ‘a very good window of opportunity’ for locals, especially those aged 45 and above who are prepared to pick up new skills and join the industry.

Also in favour of ‘going steel’ are architects here. Ms Rita Soh, president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, said the choice of materials is decided by developers, which is usually determined by cost.

Steel construction has many benefits, such as better sound acoustics, and it allows for faster construction.

‘End users need to change their mindset that dry construction is less solid,’ she said.

Dr Teo added: ‘This method of construction has been around for a long time. Now, it’s a matter of public education.’

Source : Straits Times - 26 Jan 2007

It also wants more extensive use of steel in buildings 

There has been encouraging progress in the adoption of alternative construction materials and methods, industry regulator Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said yesterday.

And construction companies can expect to see a new urgency in BCA’s efforts to push them to switch to alternatives after Indonesia’s ban on the export of concreting sand to Singapore and other countries.

As the name suggests, concreting, or land sand, is used to make concrete, which is used in construction.

Singapore has been getting more than 90 per cent of its land sand from Indonesia.

‘The construction industry in Singapore will have to source alternative sources of sand,’ Meinhardt (Singapore) managing director Shahzad Nassim said yesterday in response to Indonesia’s ban.

United Engineers chief executive Jackson Yap agreed. ‘You seek either new, untapped sources of materials or alternative construction methods,’ he said.

Industry players have already taken small steps away from reliance on concrete. For example, many residential projects are now using dry walls instead of concrete or brick walls, BCA said.

Besides this, BCA is encouraging more extensive use of steel - now more common for high-rise building structures - for all types of buildings. This is in line with a trend towards steel in countries such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Some commercial and residential projects here have already used steel as a major component to help accelerate the construction process. Examples include Ang Mo Kio Hub, Capital Tower, Fusionopolis, the National Library and the Supreme Court.

And developers of both integrated resorts are expected to use a substantial amount of steel to complete their projects within the tight deadline.

Source : Business Times - 25 Jan 2007