BCA leads 30-strong Singapore delegation to boost construction expertise in India's Andhra Pradesh

THE Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will lead a delegation of around 30 companies to Andhra Pradesh in an upcoming trip to help boost the Indian state's expertise in construction quality, among other areas.

Companies forming the delegation include contractors, consultants, material suppliers, IT firms, and trading and investment firms, the BCA said.

The companies have expressed interest in venturing into the Andhra Pradesh market, the BCA said, and construction companies such as the Tiong Seng Group and CKR Group are already in talks with developers in the state to provide precast solutions.

"There are ample opportunities in Andhra Pradesh for Singapore enterprises at this phase of city building," noted Tiong Seng Holdings' executive director and chief executive Pek Lian Guan.

"Our Indian counterparts can leverage Singapore expertise and experience in building not just the city infrastructure or 'hardware', but also on growing the soft elements of a nurturing and gathering of human capital from all over the world," he added.

The BCA has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Aprera) to share knowledge and help them build up institutional capacity to enable "a vibrant and productive real estate and built environment industry" in the state.

The collaboration between the two agencies will involve promoting and creating a "safe, high quality, environment-friendly and productive built environment" in Andhra Pradesh.

The BCA will also share with Aprera its expertise in the following areas:

- initiatives to create a safe built environment in Singapore through the Construction and Real Estate Network (Corenet) e-Submission system for project approvals;

- its Construction Quality Assessment System (Conquas) and Bonus System for Construction Quality (BSCQ) for quality construction procurement;

- the BCA's Green Building Roadmaps and Green Mark Certification to promote environmental sustainability in the built environment; and

- the BCA's Construction Productivity Roadmaps to enhance the quality of Singapore's construction workforce, and the adoption of productive technologies to ensure cost effective and timely delivery of construction projects.

The collaboration with Aprera is an "important step" in sharing knowledge and deepening engagement with India, said BCA's chief executive Hugh Lim.

"We will continue to develop this strong partnership to help them address areas of needs and introduce Singapore firms that can contribute towards the development in Andhra Pradesh. With Aprera driving quality and on-time delivery of real estate projects in Andhra Pradesh, Singapore firms will be able to value-add to these efforts as they have built up expertise and experience in these knowledge areas," he added.

The push is also in line with the construction industry's transformation map to give local firms a boost in their overseas ventures.