The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) bestowed 151 awards on sustainable design yesterday at an annual ceremony held at Suntec City.
Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development said the figure was a manifestation of the efforts of the construction industry to improve productivity and capabilities. Notwithstanding the economic slowdown and lower demand from the external sector, the industry grew by 24.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009.
City Developments received the highest citation – the inaugural platinum award – while RSP Architects, CapitaLand, Meinhardt Singapore, Woh Hup and three other developers got gold class awards. The winners were assessed based on the environmental impact of their operations and projects and other sustainability awards they had received. Other award categories were the construction excellence, universal design, design and engineering safety excellence, and green and gracious builder awards.
“This growth should be sustainable and the industry needs to continue to invest in manpower development, and build capabilities in new growth areas,” said Fu.
The Green Mark certifications increased from 69 last year to 103 recorded green building awards this year. In support of the growing commitment of builders to green design, BCA added three new categories under the Green Market schemes: infrastructure, office interiors and landed houses. In addition, BCA will also launch a $100 million green building program to help building owners adopt sustainable design. Over the next 10 years, BCA will also train 18,000 sustainable design experts to spearhead the growth of the industry.