More support for construction, process, marine firms in light of freeze on arriving workers from India

WITH the construction, process and marine sectors expected to be hit by the just-announced freeze on migrant workers arriving from India, the government is working on additional support, said Minister of Education Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19.

Noting that many local small and medium-sized enterprises and contractors "will be badly impacted", he said: "The government will be looking at providing additional support measures to help these companies. We are reviewing to see what these support measures will be, and we will announce them when ready."

The construction sector in particular has already faced delays, and "with this additional restriction of workers, there will be further delays in projects", he added.

Asked whether the additional support might be similar to previous aid or might take new forms, and whether it would be sector-wide or for directly-affected firms, Mr Wong said he was "not in a position to talk about specifics" yet, saying only: "We are aware and mindful that this will have a major impact on companies, particularly in the construction, marine and process sectors."

Even before this latest move, when some border restrictions were tightened on Tuesday, the government had already anticipated an impact on the sector, he added.

With the complete freeze on arrivals now, the government has accelerated its work on the help measures and will announce them when they are ready, he said.

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In a Facebook post, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said: "With the inflow of workers affected, the progress of construction projects may slow down and firms may face challenges meeting deadlines."

"We know this will impact the sector, and will announce support measures soon. We will work closely with the trade associations in the built environment sector to support firms through this period, and help them with transformation."

Acknowledging that property buyers will also be concerned about potential delays to the completion of homes, offices, and commercial spaces, he added: "We will work with Housing & Development Board, private developers and construction companies to see how their projects can be safely brought back on track."

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• Construction firms prepare for prolonged manpower crunch