1 A very good evening to all of you. I am glad to join you at SISV’s 25th Anniversary Dinner.

Improved Prospects for Construction Industry

2 The current outlook for the real estate and construction sector is buoyant. For the first five months this year, construction demand reached about $7.6 billion. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has also revised its construction demand forecast for 2007 upward, from between $17 billion and $19 billion, to between $19 billion and $22 billion.

3 This buoyant outlook offers both opportunities and challenges for the building sector. This evening, I would like to highlight the areas where SISV can play an important role.

Green Building Development

4 There is increasing awareness and emphasis on sustainable development. In fact, it presents an opportunity for the industry to develop a niche expertise in this area. Singapore is collaborating with China on the development of an Eco-City. The Eco-City would not only be an iconic project of Singapore-China bilateral collaboration. It will open the doors to business opportunities in this new area of environmental sustainability.

5 We have already made good head start in enhancing the sustainability of our built environment. From April this year, all new public sector buildings and existing ones undergoing major refurbishment will be Green Mark certified. MND has also set up the Green Mark Incentive Scheme to encourage private developers and building owners to achieve at least a Green Mark Gold rating for their buildings. In addition, the MND Research Fund for the Built Environment has been established to support R&D in energy efficiency and green building technologies.

6 We will be amending the Building Control Act to legislate the requirement equivalent to the Basic Green Mark standards for new buildings and existing ones that are undergoing major retrofitting. BCA has started consulting the industry players, including SISV, on the proposed legislative requirements. We believe that there are strong economic reasons for the development of green buildings. SISV members can do its part on sustainability by influencing the developers and buyers on the potential benefits of green buildings.

Sustainable Construction

7 The recent Indonesian export ban on sand and disruption of granite supply was a timely reminder to the industry of its over-reliance on concrete in construction. It is heartening to see the stabilisation of concrete prices, and at this juncture, I would like to thank SISV for its part in formulating the Practice Note on the cost-sharing arrangement for the increased costs of sand and granite.

8 The industry has to diversify our sources for raw materials and reduce our dependency to any single source of supply. The Government is aiming to reduce our reliance on sand and granite by 30 to 50 percent over the next five years. SISV members can play a key role in influencing our consumption or construction materials and methods.

Real Estate Boom

9 Singapore is entering a period of strong growth, and these are exciting times in the real estate and construction sector. There are also challenges for us to manage, such as the rising home and office rents. To bring about greater transparency and objectivity to the property market, the Government is releasing more data on a regular basis.

10 Last Friday, URA and HDB issued detailed quarterly updates on the public residential, private residential, office and shop sectors of the property market. The information now includes rental and vacancy rates for shops, offices and residential properties. We are also providing information on the supply pipeline. Our intention is to enable the public to make informed decisions when they consider property investment and rental options.

11 Professionals in the field of valuation are crucial players in property transactions. SISV can play a part
in helping your clients and the public make rational decisions by taking due considerations of the information released by URA and HDB.

Conclusion

12 On this note, I wish all of you great success in riding the wave of the construction and real estate boom. We hope to see all of you playing your part to make the development of our built environment a sustainable one for the future of Singapore.