Construction Projects with Permission to Work on Weekends

4 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment among current ongoing constructions projects (a) how many have been granted permission to work on weekends; and (b) whether there has been an increase of constructions projects granted permission to work on weekends as compared to the last tightening of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment (Mr Desmond Tan) (for the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment): Mr Speaker, construction works are not allowed on Sundays and public holidays at sites located within 150 metres from any hospital, home for the aged sick, or residential building. Nonetheless, contractors can apply for a permit from NEA to carry out specific types of quieter construction works on Sundays and public holidays. These quieter works are also subject to a set of conditions, including more stringent noise limits and restricted working hours.

In the current Transition Phase to COVID-19 Resilience, which began on 22 November 2021, 79 ongoing construction projects have been granted permits to carry out quieter construction works on Sundays and public holidays. In comparison, 70 such permits were granted during the preceding Stabilisation Phase from 27 September 2021 to 21 November 2021.

Mr Speaker: Mr Yip Hon Weng.

Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang): Mr Speaker, I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Will the Ministry consider: one, tighter enforcement on noise management for construction activities on Sundays and public holidays; and two, reducing the hours on Sundays and public holidays for construction if the construction sites are sited near residential areas.

Mr Desmond Tan: I thank the Member for the feedback. On the first one, NEA has been stepping up on enforcement. Last year, in Parliament, we passed amendments to the Environmental Protection and Management Act that require errant contractors to install real-time video surveillance so that we can enforce the "no-work rule" more effectively over the public holidays as well as Sundays. This is something that will come into effect in October this year and will help NEA to better enforce some of the errant practices of working on a "no-work day".

The second point about reducing hours, it is something that we constantly try to strike a balance for, between creating a more conducive environment and ensuring that the projects, construction works, progress within certain timeframes and with certain costs. This will have an impact not just on the duration of the work, which will ultimately cause more disamenities and prolonged noise for our residents. So, on this part we will try to strike a balance.

Today, on Sundays and public holidays, the work hours are already restricted between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm and the kind of works that are allowed are quieter works that will not cause additional noise to the residents.

The current regulation and guidelines in place would be effective to try and reduce and balance the need for construction to progress within certain time and costs, and the noise disamenities that is caused for our residents. NEA will continue to do the enforcement and monitor to make sure that we keep the environment conducive.