More local construction, consultancy firms venture overseas

SINGAPORE — Local contractors and consultants doubled the number of overseas projects secured in 2015, according to the Building Construction Authority (BCA). The findings from the Construction Export Survey released yesterday showed that the total number of overseas projects rose to 594 in 2015, up from 289 in 2014.

The increase in construction projects outside of Singapore was notable, tripling from just 47 in 2014 to 152 in 2015, while overseas consultancy projects rose from 242 in 2014 to 442 in 2015.

According to the BCA data, the number of contractors and consultancy firms going overseas and expanding their international outreach has also increased.

In 2015, 38 construction firms had established international operations compared with 22 in 2014.

This compares with 62 consultancy firms that had ventured abroad, compared with 26 in 2014.

The heightened interest in expanding overseas within the construction and consultancy industry underscores the slowdown in construction projects at home.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Manpower reported that the construction sector experienced a record quarterly fall in employment.

In the first three months of the year, the number of workers employed in the sector fell by 12,500.

Speaking to TODAY, construction firms and experts cited a variety of factors for the drop in manpower, from the slowdown in private residential projects to the Government’s push for greater innovation and productivity in the industry to reduce the reliance on labour. In the Budget announced earlier this year, the Government said that it would bring forward S$700 million worth of public infrastructure projects to start this year and next year.

Despite the increased number of projects secured overseas, however, the total value of overseas contracts remained stable, at S$1.74 billion in 2015.

This indicates that the projects secured in 2015 were mainly of smaller value than those in 2014, said the BCA in a statement.

Singapore construction companies mostly expanded to regional countries such as Myanmar, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as the United Arab Emirates.

According to the BCA, the majority of overseas construction projects involved renovation and interior works (41 per cent) and building construction works in the residential and hospitality sectors (12 per cent).

Separately, Singapore consultancy firms were mostly active in China, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam. Demand for consultancy services was strongest in architectural and civil and structural works.

The BCA report, now in its 13th year, is based on a survey of more than 1,400 Singapore construction and consultancy firms.