S$450m to boost productivity in Singapore's construction sector

To improve the productivity of the construction industry, the government will set aside S$450 million for the Construction Productivity and Capability Fund (CPCF) under the second Roadmap for the next three years.

This follows the S$250 million CPCF set aside in 2010, which was later topped up to S$335 million to quicken the pace of restructuring.

The Second Construction Productivity Roadmap was announced by Senior Minister of State Lee Yi Shyan on Tuesday. It has also added two thrusts.

The first thrust is the adoption of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA). Simply put, DFMA requires the industry to manufacture as many building parts as possible in a factory. Prefabricated parts are then assembled on site. To embrace DFMA well, firms will need new capabilities in design, engineering and manufacturing.

Accordingly, the second thrust is to develop deep capabilities in the industry.

"It is important that our progressive firms benchmark themselves against the international best practices," Mr Lee said.

"Our progressive firms must develop new expertise in in-house cross-functional teams comprising architects, engineers and project management professionals. They should have a larger proportion of skilled workers, professionals and a stable workforce."