Last two pandemic-delayed BTO projects completed; HDB to finish building 17,000 flats this year

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has completed all 92 pandemic-delayed Build-to-Order (BTO) projects, finishing the final two this month.

In the year ahead, HDB said on Monday (Jan 20) that it is on track to finish the construction of about 17,000 new flats across 27 projects.

Speaking after a visit to Punggol Point Cove, one of the delayed projects, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said while the pandemic may seem like a distant memory for many, the construction sector has endured a “long-COVID” due to unprecedented work closures, as well as the impact on supply chain, manpower and costs.

“With the hard work of everyone in the construction ecosystem, we've been able to finally complete all the COVID-delayed HDB BTO projects,” the minister said.

COMPLETION OF LAST TWO DELAYED PROJECTS

At phase two of Punggol Point Cove, five of its six blocks were completed in November and December last year, while the last block was completed earlier this month after a delay of 12 months from its original completion date.

The project comprises 1,179 units of two-room flexi, three-, four- and five-room flats across six residential blocks.

As of Jan 15, a total of 657 households, or about 59 per cent of the 1,109 booked units, have collected their keys.

First launched for sale in September 2019, the BTO project was affected by pandemic-related disruptions, including the stoppage of construction work during the “circuit breaker” imposed in mid-2020, and a change in contractor.

CKR Contract Services was terminated by the HDB in July 2023 after the contractor “repeatedly failed to meet the necessary targets”, HDB said. 

A month later, Qingjian International (South Pacific) Group Development Co was appointed to complete the remaining works.

This marks the completion of all the flats in the Punggol Point District, which includes phase one of Punggol Point Cove, Punggol Point Woods and Punggol Point Crown BTO projects. These three projects were completed in 2024.

At Kempas Residences in the Boon Keng area, the final block was completed in mid-January, following a delay of six months from its original probable completion date.

As of Jan 15, a total of 37 households, or about 7 per cent of 555 booked units, have collected the keys to their new homes. 

The BTO project, bounded by Serangoon Road, Lavender Street and Boon Keng Road, comprises 583 units of two-room Flexi, three- and four-room flats across four residential blocks.

Home owners of the phase two flats of Punggol Point Cove have been receiving the keys to their new homes since November last year, while key collection for Kempas Residences began in mid-January. 

HDB said the remaining home owners of the newly completed blocks in both projects will be notified soon.

18,000 FLATS COMPLETED IN 2024 

HDB said it completed over 18,000 flats across 22 BTO projects last year.

Seventeen of these were pandemic-delayed projects, while one project - Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok - saw slight delays due to a change in contractor.

The remaining four – Alkaff Breeze, Champions Bliss, Parc Glen @ Tengah and Grove Spring @ Yishun –  were built without any delays, reflecting the “steady” post-pandemic recovery in the construction industry since 2023, HDB said. 

There were two projects with shorter waiting times of below three years - Parc Glen @ Tengah and Grove Spring @ Yishun.

Overall, accounting for delays caused by the pandemic, the waiting time for the flats across all 22 projects ranged from about two to five years. 

HDB said there are currently 110 BTO projects under construction, up from 95 a year ago arising from the ramp-up in BTO supply in recent years.

“With the completion of all projects that were delayed by the pandemic, there are currently no delayed projects among the projects under construction,” the agency said.

Asked about the termination of contractors at two BTO projects and what is being done to prevent the repeat of such instances, Mr Lee said: “Considering the extensive impact that COVID-19 had on the construction sector, I would say that these are events that we hope would not have happened, but they've happened, and we want to make sure that we continue to learn the lesson.”

Lessons learned include having tighter coordination and monitoring between the developing agencies, contractors and consultants. The use of digital tools has helped the authorities to better track progress and pre-empt difficulties.

Other efforts include diversifying sources of construction materials and pushing for greater robotics and automation to deal with labour shortages. 

“Of course, when these things happen (and) the contractor is unable to proceed because of financial reasons and other causes, HDB has a process to swing into place to be able to make sure that the delays are minimised to the best extent possible,” Mr Lee said.

He was also asked about how some residents in phase one of Punggol Point Cove have cited “unsatisfactory conditions” in their new flats, such as scratched windows.

Mr Lee said residents who encounter issues within their new flats can approach the building service centre for the BTO project.

“The contractors, the supervisors (and) HDB teams are working hard to address all the concerns that residents raised, not just here, but all across the island,” he said.

“Over the last five years, we've completed 80,000 homes. (With) this large number of units being worked on, we need to make sure we continue to build flats safely and with good quality, and when there are defects with the issues, the HDB team, together with our contractors, will work hard to address residents concerns.”