S$150m Public Sector Construction Productivity Fund unveiled

To further boost the Republic’s faltering construction industry, a S$150 million Public Sector Construction Productivity Fund will be introduced to allow government agencies to procure innovative and productive solutions.

The fund aims at allowing these new solutions, which may have higher costs, as they are at a nascent stage or lacking in scale, to enter and gain traction in the market, Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech.

“We will also support our agencies to procure products and services in a way that builds capabilities in the economy and supports innovation,” Mr Heng said.

This is one of the measures in the Budget to strengthen government and industry partnerships with focus on innovation and productivity.

The use of new technologies and innovation can result in better-quality structures and shorter building times, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said last October when it unveiled a research and development roadmap to lift productivity in the construction industry.

RUMI HARDASMALANI