Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

More than 7,200 HDB flats completed in first half of 2022, 15% jump from previous year

SINGAPORE — A total of 7,219 Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats were completed in the first six months of this year, a 15 per cent jump from the same period last year.

Northshore Edge in Punggol, which was one of the six BTO projects completed in the first half of 2022.

Northshore Edge in Punggol, which was one of the six BTO projects completed in the first half of 2022.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE — A total of 7,219 Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats were completed in the first six months of this year, a 15 per cent jump from the same period last year.

The completed homes were spread across six Build-to-Order (BTO) projects — Senja Ridges, Senja Heights, Senja Valley, Dakota Breeze, Northshore Edge and Fernvale Glades.

All six projects had their original completion dates extended due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Three of them — Northshore Edge, Senja Heights and Senja Ridges — were completed more than a month ahead of the revised probable completion dates that were told to flat buyers about three to nine months ago, said HDB.

Senja Ridges and Senja Heights were among the projects affected after Greatearth Corp and Greatearth Construction ran into financial difficulties and new contractors were appointed.

 
Project Completion date
Senja Ridges January 2022
Senja Heights  February 2022
Senja Valley April 2022
Dakota Breeze May 2022
Northshore Edge June 2022
Fernvale Glades June 2022

Source: HDB

The total number of BTO flats completed in the first half of 2022 was a 15 per cent increase from the 6,275 flats completed in the same period last year.

HDB said it was also almost three times the 2,485 flats completed in the first half of 2020. Construction work was halted in April and May 2020 as Singapore underwent a Covid-19 “circuit breaker”.

The Housing Board said the progress in the first half of 2022 comes “on the back of a steady recovery” in the construction industry since early this year.

This was due to the improving Covid-19 and migrant manpower situation, as well as the “strong assistance and support given to the industry”, added HDB.

WAITING TIME

The waiting time for the six BTO projects completed in the first six months of this year ranged from 3.9 years to 5.3 years, taking into consideration the delays caused by the pandemic. The median waiting time was 4.1 years.

“It will take another two to three years to complete all the ongoing BTO projects which had been affected by the pandemic,” said HDB.

“While the delays caused by Covid-19 cannot be fully recovered HDB and our partners will continue to work on reducing some of the delays, and where possible, delivering flats ahead of their revised probable completion dates.”

There are currently about 100 HDB projects under construction. This excludes projects offered during the February and May sales exercises, as those have not begun construction.

The estimated waiting times for these ongoing projects range from two years to 5.4 years, with a median waiting time of about 4.3 years, said the agency.

The agency said it has been working closely with contractors and partners to put in place measures to reduce construction delays.

This includes helping contractors prioritise work areas, secure manpower and material supply, and getting waivers for less noisy construction activities to be carried out over the weekends where feasible.

“HDB implemented an extensive suite of assistance measures for our contractors to help ease their financial pressure brought about by the pandemic-induced spikes in construction costs, including both manpower and non-manpower costs,” it added.

“We also extended the period of protection against steel price fluctuations and have been supplying our contractors with more concreting materials, at protected prices, for local precast production and cast-in-situ operations.”

HOUSING SUPPLY

To meet the current strong demand for public housing, HDB has ramped up BTO supply by about 35 per cent from 17,000 flats last year to up to 23,000 flats in 2022.

About 4,000 and 4,600 flats were launched in the February and May BTO exercises this year.

In August, about 4,900 flats will be offered in estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, Tampines and Woodlands.

Another 9,500 BTO flats will be offered in November in estates such as Bukit Batok, Kallang Whampoa, Queenstown and Yishun.

More details will be announced at a later date.

“HDB will continue to monitor the housing demand and adjust plans where necessary to ensure that the supply of public housing remains responsive to the housing needs of the population,” said the agency.

“We are prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, if needed, subject to prevailing demand.”

HDB’s chief executive officer Tan Meng Dui said the construction industry is progressively regaining its momentum after two years of disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that the Housing Board has been working closely with its consultants and contractors, putting in place measures to reduce delays and helping its partners secure necessary resources.

“These collective efforts have enabled HDB to deliver more homes to flat buyers this year, compared with the same period over the past two years,” said Mr Tan.

“We target to deliver even more flats in the second half of the year, and are on track to deliver more flats for the whole of 2022 than each of the last two years. We thank home owners for their understanding, as we continue to catch up on delays while ensuring quality and not compromising safety.” CNA

For more reports like this, visit cna.asia.

Related topics

hdb BTO flats Covid-19

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.