SPEECH BY 2M INDRANEE RAJAH AT REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS' ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE (REDAS) MID-AUTUMN LUNCH

Good afternoon. I am happy to join you to celebrate the mid-autumn festivities. You have invited me in the past, and it always feels like a reunion coming back. Thank you.

The mid-autumn festival celebrates the spirit of togetherness and unity. This encapsulates the strong and steadfast partnership between REDAS and the Government in shaping Singapore’s urban landscape.

You have not just constructed buildings, but homes where our families create memories, commercial spaces where our businesses thrive, and iconic developments that put Singapore on the world map. Thank you for journeying with us through the past 60 years of nation building.

CONTINUING TO BUILD SINGAPORE

But as you know, we are never done building Singapore.

We see this in the Draft Master Plan 2025, which outlines our ambitious vision for the next 10 to 15 years. This plan will guide us in creating a more liveable, inclusive, and sustainable Singapore for future generations.

I want to thank REDAS for your valuable contributions during the public consultation process for the Draft Master Plan 2025. Your insights and your feedback have been instrumental in shaping our vision.

As we move forward to translate these plans into reality, I encourage you to continue working closely with us on the exciting new projects that will transform Singapore’s urban landscape, these include Sembawang Shipyard, the former Singapore Racecourse site at Kranji, and Paya Lebar Air Base. These are all major development projects that will create new precincts that integrate homes, amenities, and green spaces. They will also help drive economic growth and create quality jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans.

The Government is also committed to doing more to meet Singaporeans' needs, particularly their homeownership aspirations. From 2025 to 2027, we will launch around 55,000 BTO flats. Through the Government Land Sales programme, we will also launch more than 25,000 private residential units over this period, to provide diverse housing options across the island.

UPLIFTING THE BE SECTOR

Of course, our bold plans can only be realised with the support of strong and successful partners in the built environment sector.

My colleagues and I at MND have heard from many of you about the challenges that you face. Please be assured that we are reviewing your feedback closely, and that we will continue to take a pro-enterprise approach to review our policies and regulations, to help companies do well.

Another key initiative is the Taskforce for Architectural and Engineering Consultants. We recently released our recommendations to improve the talent pipeline and business sustainability for our BE consultancy sector. Mr Kwee Ker Wei, 1st Vice President of REDAS, has been a key member of this taskforce. I would like to thank Mr Kwee and REDAS for your contributions to the team.

As real estate developers, you play a pivotal role as project owners in uplifting the industry. Your decisions on procurement, design and construction approaches have far-reaching effects on the entire BE value chain.

Let me highlight a few key areas from the Taskforce’s report, which or where developers like yourselves can make an impact.

First, we need to emphasise quality-based procurement to foster a more sustainable BE consultancy sector. This will allow the sector to invest more in human capital and drive innovation, enabling it to better meet developers’ needs.

We must move away from the unhealthy practices of cheap-sourcing and fee-diving that does no more that create a race to the bottom.

In support of the Taskforce, the Government will be enhancing our procurement approaches to further disadvantage and disqualify low outlier bids for more public sector projects. The Government is also committed to enhancing our contractual clauses to enable a better distribution of risks between service buyers and BE consultants.

I am pleased to note that REDAS is also exploring updates to your standard form contracts. I encourage REDAS and private developers to consider implementing similar enhancements to support a healthier business environment.

Next, we must make the BE sector the career of choice, by improving workplace well-being and giving greater recognition to our people.

The work of our BE professionals is critical and challenging, but often underappreciated. The need to balance competing demands and manage stakeholders have contributed to a high-pressure and demanding work culture.

As a sector, we can do more to recognise their contributions and foster a positive workplace culture to improve talent attraction and retention.

This is why the Taskforce has developed a BE Charter for Appreciation, Respect and Empathy, or BE CARE, as we call it. The charter outlines best practices to develop collaborative relationships in project teams.

As developers, you play a crucial role in setting a collegial tone in the project teams.

REDAS members like Frasers Property, Far East Organization and SingHaiyi Group are supporting this by implementing the charter in their projects, and I hope that more developers will join in this effort.

These will complement the Taskforce’s efforts to improve the value proposition of BE careers, so that we can attract, nurture and retain talent to continue building Singapore.

CORENET X

Let me also touch on another key transformation initiative – CORENET X, the one-stop digital platform that streamlines regulatory approvals for building works. REDAS’s close partnership has helped us to improve CORENET X's processes.

a. For instance, you worked with other Trade Associations and Chambers to refine the payment schedules to better reflect the upfront efforts taken by consultants under CORENET X.

b. Your feedback and collaboration have been essential in making this system work better.

As you may know, CORENET X is now mandatory for all new projects with GFA of at least 30,000 square metres since 1st October, just two days ago.

We recognise that this represents a significant change for the industry, which is why we have undertaken various initiatives to support your transition.

a. These include extending the timelines for the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) remission and Project Completion Period (PCP).

b. We have also provided funding support for CORENET X training and purchases of BIM software through the Productivity Solutions Grant. We want to ensure that you have sufficient resources to make this transition successfully.

I call on developers to encourage your entire value chain to onboard CORENET X early, and ahead of mandatory implementation for all new projects in October 2026, especially for upcoming projects that are smaller than 30,000 square metres.

We have heard from early adopters that the process becomes much easier after using CORENET X for at least one project. Projects can potentially save up to 20% of the time taken to obtain regulatory approvals, so please do invest in this.

CONCLUSION

In closing, I would like to thank REDAS once again for your close partnership and collaboration. It has been one of mutual respect, shared vision, and collective commitment to Singapore's future.

On this auspicious occasion, I wish everybody good health, prosperity, and continued success and have a happy mooncake festival. Thank you very much.