Tag Archives: HBD

318 awards given to construction industry players for excellence

Posted on 24 May 2012 | Comments Off on 318 awards given to construction industry players for excellence

Singapore’s construction sector honoured its best on Thursday evening.

The Building and Construction Authority gave out 318 awards to builders, developers, consultants and building owners for excellence in areas of safety, quality, sustainability and user-friendliness.

BCA said there are more winners this year due to higher construction standards and more Green Mark Awards.

Last year, 261 awards were given out.

At this year’s event, Ascendas, CapitaLand and the National University of Singapore were conferred the Green Mark Champion Award for their strong commitment towards environmental sustainability.

NUS is the first educational institution to be awarded the Green Mark Champion Award.

The university incorporates innovative environmental strategies into its building developments on campus, and adopts a sustainable life cycle approach to facilities management.

BCA said including the Green Mark Champion Awards, the number of Green Mark Awards increased from 164 last year to 205 this year.

It said more developers and building owners are coming onboard to “green” their buildings, as they recognise the growing importance of green and sustainable developments to their business and environment.

As of May, there are more than 1,180 green buildings in Singapore, with a total gross floor area of about 37 million square metres, or 16 per cent of the total estimated existing building floor space.

This year, the Housing and Development Board was conferred the Built Environment Leadership Platinum Award, the highest accolade for demonstrating excellence and leadership in shaping a safe, high quality, sustainable and friendly built environment.

This is the first time a public sector organisation is awarded the Built Environment Leadership Platinum Award since the award was introduced in 2009.

HDB’s CEO Dr Cheong Koon Hean said, “HDB is honoured to receive the Built Environment Leadership Platinum Award and other awards. This award is a great encouragement to us, and we will continue to focus on the three thrusts of our Roadmap – building well-designed, sustainable, and community-centric towns.”

At Thursday night’s event, the BCA also presented a cheque of nearly S$580,000 on behalf of the construction industry to President Tony Tan Keng Yam, as donation to the President’s Challenge.

Source : CNA – 2012 May 24

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Singapore April inflation rate up as housing costs soar

Posted on 24 May 2012 | Comments Off on Singapore April inflation rate up as housing costs soar

Singapore inflation hit a slightly higher-than-expected % in April, increasing the chance that it may exceed a government forecast for the year and putting pressure on the central bank to keep a tighter monetary policy.

A Reuters poll of 12 economists had forecast a rise of 5.3%. In March, the year-on-year inflation rate surprisingly spiked to 5.2% from 4.6% the previous month.

Headline inflation “could average around 5% year-on-year in the first half of 2012 before easing gradually in second half,” the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Wednesday in a statement reporting the April data.

“Accommodation cost will remain the largest contributor to inflation this year as leasing contracts continue to be renewed at rentals that are considerably higher than those under existing contracts, especially in the (public housing) segment,” it said.

The central bank reiterated its forecast for headline inflation of 3.5-4.5% for 2012 and for core inflation, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, of 2.5-3.0%.

But the latest data makes some analysts wonder if inflation can be low enough in the second half to stay under 4.5% for the year.

Song Seng Wun, economist at CIMB, said that upward pressure from premiums that Singapore charges car buyers and housing costs will put inflation in the 4.5-5.0% range for the full year.

Wai Ho Leong, regional economist at Barclays, said that with wages rising, inflation “is going to be surprisingly high for the next two months” at around 5% and “possibly even higher”.

Source: PropertyReport – 2012 May 22

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