Hurray for construction industry?

So the CNA news ticker read that there would be a huge boom for the construction industry this year and the following ones, almost $16-18 billion worth of contracts. But well of course, since we are rolling in the IRs and BFC.

Point to note is that these projects, though huge, are one-off projects that most likely would not be replicated for a long time. And from what i know, the industry has all along known about these projects as early as 2004, and would most likely have already budgeted it into their annual project forecast, with profits already estimated.

All that may not sound like a big deal, but it is exactly what is left out in that little harmless-looking news ticker that the CNA ran only a few days back. The focus is on the celebration of a renewed breath of life into the construction industry, a considerable industry in singapore that has experienced many highs and lows, and in recent years been beleagured by many problems.

My ire is that as long as the core structural problems of the industry are not sorted out and glossed over in this over-hyped construction 'boom', the same industrial problems will return to haunt us after the IRs are completed. How many more mega projects can you visualise packed into any of our remaining waterfronts or business districts?

Endemic problems of main contractors witholding payments or grants to subcontractors, one of the worst construction safety records in the world and above all the 'best-of-3-bids' system the state practises in handing out projects have worsened the problem of contractors under-bidding for projects and in turn delaying payments to sub-contractors. It is embarassing enough that some of our main infrastructural renewal and upgrading projects have been delayed time and again due to bankrupt construction companies.

Indeed we have made great strides with innovations like pre-fabricated materials, methods that will save on both material costs and the costs of a tigt labour market. But what industry watchers have observed to be the main problems do not exactly arise from rising labour and material costs.

In fact, it is the implementation of policies that seems sorely lacking. Yes indeed it is surprising that a usually strong-handed regime seems to be lacking in exactly one of its saving graces; that it is efficient, it delivers and is a professional business partner.

Indeed the efficiency seems to be crudely achieved with the bidding system, but the result seems to be a violation of the intent to get the best goods at the best price. Instead, we end up with the best price among the best under-cutters. This has been noted to spawn off many other industry-wide problems, all the way from the main contractor down to the sub-contractor and the hapless foreign worker.

The horrors of the Nicoll highway incident aside, I fervently await the industry and state to wake up from this giddying $16 billion bonanza and attempt to tackle the construction industry's criticla problems fast, before the money runs out and the party's over