On 27 January 2022, initiated and organized by our Executive Committee, Singapore Building Materials Suppliers’ Association (SBMSA) had an in-depth online dialogue with Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Attending this dialogue were Director of  BCA Partnership Engagement Group, Mr Reginald Wee and Assistant Ms Claryce Ng, as well as SBMSA President Mr Ng Soy Ng, Vice-President Mr George Tan, Vice-President Mr Colin Lim Beng Beng, Honorary Secretary Mr Kenny Lim, Honorary Treasurer Mr Pang Ah Sing, Assistant Honorary Trade Officer Ms Susan Ang Hwee Tin, Internal Auditor Mr Timothy Ong and Chun Hoe Pte Ltd Representative Leo.

SBMSA expressed the concerns and views raised by business owners about the difficulties and challenges faced by the construction industry and building materials suppliers. The topics covered in this dialogue include :

• Due to the impact of Covid-19, the construction industry is facing challenges of  project delays due to the shortage of migrant workers;
• Supply chains and importation of migrant workers have being severely affected by border control restrictions;
• The issue of high local land prices and high levy.
• And small and medium-sized building materials suppliers are facing problems such as increase in material prices, supply chain disruptions, cash flow issues, and inability to fulfil existing contracts, etc.

SBMSA hopes that BCA will be to convey the business owners’ concerns and help to solve their problems.

Mr Reginald Wee encouraged companies to stay resilient, strengthen cooperation and support among peers, and promote industry automation and digitalization to achieve growth and transformation.

President Mr Ng Soy Ng also took this opportunity to express his interest in green building materials and his willingness to cooperate with local Higher Education Institutes to research and develop new green building materials. He thanked Mr Reginald Wee for taking the time to participate in this dialogue, and hoped that there will be more dialogue opportunities in the future.