Mosquito breeding: 10 construction sites told to stop work

SINGAPORE — With construction sites known to have a high potential for dengue transmission, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has made public since last month the list of construction sites that have received a Stop Work Order because of issues related to mosquito breeding.

These sites have been barred from continuing work after NEA inspections found them to have poor housekeeping that give rise to conditions favourable to mosquito breeding. Besides issuing a Stop Work Order, the NEA can also issue fines or prosecute errant contractors in court.

“This (the various measures) is to ensure that contractors take the necessary measures to eliminate mosquito breeding, regardless of whether the construction sites are within or outside of dengue clusters ... Construction sites are of particular concern as they can easily become the foci of dengue transmission,” an NEA spokesperson said.

Currently, there are 10 construction sites on the list, seven of which have been allowed to resume work. The remaining three, whose Stop Work Orders have yet to be lifted, are located at Jalan Lempeng, Flora Drive and Orchard Boulevard.

IOI Properties, the developer of The Trilinq condominium at Jalan Lempeng, said today (May 22) that its main contractor, Da-Cin Construction, has been working with the NEA to upgrade housekeeping and overall cleanliness of the site amid the erratic downpour and hot weather in May.

“As part of the fight against dengue, NEA has also ordered these two weeks of stop work for The Trilinq site to allow the main contractor to do a comprehensive housekeeping, including the dormitory, to reorganise, tidy the site and remove any potential mosquito breeding habitats,” said IOI Properties. Construction will resume once the Stop Work Order issued on April 27 is lifted, said the developer.

The list of Stop Work Order is updated every time there is a new issuance, and each order will be listed on the dengue website (www.dengue.gov.sg) for six months. Last year, the NEA issued more than more than 130 Stop Work Orders and more than 1,100 notices for contractors to attend court. There were also more than 60 court prosecutions against contractors for repeat offences.

Mosquito breeding was detected in 7.5 per cent, or about 878 cases, of the 11,700 inspections conducted at construction sites for the whole of last year. A total of 158 dengue cases were reported in the week ended May 16 — 23 cases more than the previous week.

The NEA warned that dengue transmission could increase from June. “The warmer months of June to October are when there is usually higher transmission of dengue in Singapore due to accelerated breeding and maturation cycles for the Aedes mosquitoes and shorter incubation periods for the dengue virus,” the agency said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report attributed comments made by IOI Properties to an NEA spokesperson. IOI Properties had said: “As part of the fight against dengue, NEA has also ordered these two weeks of stop work for The Trilinq site to allow the main contractor to do a comprehensive housekeeping, including the dormitory, to reorganise, tidy the site and remove any potential mosquito breeding habitats” and that construction would resume once the Stop Work Order issued on April 27 is lifted. We apologise for the error.