Key amendments in place for underground works, high-rise buildings
Ms Fu: Nicoll Highway collapse in 2004 was a 'wake up call' THE Building Control Bill was passed by Parliament yesterday, paving the way for a stronger regulatory framework to raise professionalism, quality and safety standards in the construction industry.
Speaking in Parliament, Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu said the Nicoll Highway collapse in 2004 was 'a wake up call for the construction industry'.
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) consulted industry stakeholders and the public over the past two years on possible measures, she said. 'The feedback has been considered and some suggestions have been incorporated into the Bill or will be taken up when drafting the relevant subsidiary legislation.'
The Bill puts in place the recommendations of the Ministry of National Development-Ministry of Manpower Joint Review Committee (JRC) on Construction Safety, which was formed to examine the regulation of construction following the Nicoll Highway collapse.
Key amendments arising from the JRC's recommendations include more stringent regulation of underground building works, licensing of general builders and specialist builders, provision of accredited site supervisors, ensuring independence of parties in construction projects and raising of penalties for non-compliance with building control regulations.
In addition, there are also new provisions to set minimum standards of environmental sustainability for buildings and require the continual maintenance of barrier-free provisions in buildings.
Explaining the first of these, Ms Fu said major underground building works, in particular temporary earth-retaining structures such as those that failed in the Nicoll Highway incident, will now need to be designed by a professional engineer (PE) and must be reviewed by an accredited checker (AC). Works going deeper than 6m must be designed and checked by PEs and ACs who are specialists in geotechnical engineering.
Geotechnical specialists will also now be required for tunnels greater than 2m in diameter, underground structures deeper than 6m and complex foundations for buildings of more than 30 storeys.
The Bill was debated, with Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Lee Bee Wah, a PE, raising the issue of ultimateresponsibility. 'When there are two engineers involved, accountability can never be clear,' she said.
She also said it is unclear whether the services of a specialist in geotechnical engineering would have made much difference in the only known case of a faulty high-rise building in Singapore - 3 Church Street.
It is understood that despite a PE and a geotechnical specialist being involved with construction work on the Nicoll Highway, it still collapsed.
Replying to Ms Lee, Ms Fu said: 'I am sure by formalising these requirements and doing so judiciously for a very limited number of buildings, we believe the PE Civil (professional civil engineers) and PE Geo (professional geotechnical engineers) will come up with some amicable working relationship because these relationships already exist at the present day.'
Ms Fu said only one per cent of new buildings in 2006 were more than 30 storeys and that there are currently more than 50 specialist geotechnical engineers in Singapore.
Asked to comment on the Bill, a spokesman for the Institute of Engineers of Singapore said: 'Our opinion is that there is no need for this statutory requirement to be extended to cover foundation works that exceed 30 storeys, as most civil professional engineers are sufficiently competent to handle such designs.'
M Sivakumaran, a PE with SMS Consulting Engineers, said: 'The amendment will certainly put some pressure on contractors and engineers. Construction costs are already escalating. And they may go up further.'
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