Surbana Jurong acquires blast testing and consultancy firm

TEMASEK-OWNED urban, infrastructure and managed services consultancy Surbana Jurong has acquired Prostruct Consulting for an undisclosed sum.

Prostruct Consulting is an urban and infrastructure protection firm specialising in security, blast consultancy and testing.

Surbana Jurong on Monday said this move augments its portfolio of built environment services, which includes solutions to protect buildings and infrastructure against blast and other effects of explosions and weapons.

"Iconic buildings and infrastructure that attract high crowd density or provide essential services are common targets for terrorist attacks," it said. "This underscores the need to incorporate protective security features into the design and development of the built environment."

The Surbana Jurong group can now deliver building designs with integrated security measures, by coupling its existing architectural and civil and structural engineering expertise with Prostruct's specialisation in designing blast-resistant structural systems.

This process, dubbed "security by design", ensures security measures are incorporated into the building without compromising the design or requiring expensive retrofitting during later stages of the development life cycle, Surbana Jurong said.

"The newly acquired specialist capability is timely for the group as the Singapore government has enacted an Infrastructure Protection Act that requires designated buildings to integrate security measures, such as strengthening against blast effects, into their designs before they are built or renovated," the company noted. These designs must be assessed by certified security and blast consultants.

Prostruct's founder and managing director Ang Choon Keat said that since the acquisition, the firm has secured new projects jointly with other disciplines and member companies within the Surbana Jurong group.

Joining the group enables Prostruct to leverage Surbana Jurong's global presence and multidisciplinary services across the urban and infrastructure development value chain, and extend the blast consultancy's reach beyond the Singapore market, Dr Ang added.

Prostruct is a Singapore Accreditation Council accredited commercial blast-testing service provider. It has also provided blast consultancy for a wide range of projects including industrial, commercial, healthcare, recreation, transportation and defence facilities, in both public and private sectors.

Surbana Jurong group chief executive officer Wong Heang Fine said that the combined strengths of Prostruct and Surbana Jurong reinforce the latter's commitment to build safe, secure and sustainable spaces for communities to live, work and play in.