Lian Beng aims to stay conservative as pandemic hits construction sector

CONSTRUCTION company Lian Beng Group has been in business for close to 50 years, and has weathered several storms - including the Asian financial crisis, the Sars epidemic and the Lehman Brothers collapse. But chairman and managing director Ong Pang Aik said those downturns can't hold a candle to the challenges brought about by the current pandemic.

The main difference is the pandemic's crippling effect on the company's workforce. He told The Business Times (BT) that its construction sites have not been operating at full capacity since the Covid-19 crisis started - which means project timelines will inevitably be extended and margins eroded.

Some projects were paused for as long as six months, as they lacked enough workers to continue work.