BT : BCA promotes sustainable construction with new fund

Business Times - 23 Mar 2010

BCA promotes sustainable construction with new fund

Industry encouraged to develop expertise in recycling of waste from demolition

By GLENN CHEE

THE Building and Construction Authority (BCA) announced a new $15 million Sustainable Construction Capability Development Fund during the opening ceremony of Samwoh's Eco-Green Park.

The fund is part of the effort to encourage industry players to adopt Sustainable Construction (SC) practices and technologies, and eventually steer the industry towards self-sustenance in the demand and supply of SC materials in Singapore.

'Depletion of natural resources in the long run will very likely lead to higher material prices. We must take pro-active steps now to enhance the resilience in the supply of our construction materials.' said Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development (MND) and Education, after announcing the new fund.

Developing capabilities in recycling waste materials from demolition of buildings and in the use of recycled materials for construction will be the focus of the SC fund.

The BCA hopes that the fund, which will support training, promotion and education programmes within the industry, and more extensive test-bedding of SC technologies and materials, will lead to industry players integrating SC into designs, building processes and business operations.

The fund will also be used to support an expected increase in demand for SC materials.

Adoption and upgrading of new technologies among demolition contractors, recyclers and ready-mix concrete suppliers, to adapt to the SC materials, will also be supported by the SC fund.

Ms Fu highlighted MND Research Fund for the Built Environment, used to fund Samwoh's newly opened Eco-Green Park, as an example of a project that would qualify for the new SC fund.

Samwoh's Eco-Green Park is hailed as the first building in Singapore to use recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) in its structural concrete elements.

The three-storey building cost $4 million to construct, and the flooring of the top storey is composed entirely of RCA.

Samwoh continues to test and develop new construction materials recycled from waste arising from the demolition of buildings and roads.

When asked if the fund would grow in the future, Ms Fu stated that this was just the beginning and SC was an area that would see long term attention.

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