Current and Projected Consumption of Concrete in Singapore till 2025
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns concrete consumption trends in Singapore and strategies to minimize its usage through structural design and natural material alternatives. Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong inquired about consumption figures from the past five years, projections until 2025, and potential frameworks for reducing concrete use to essential structural requirements. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee reported an annual average consumption of 11.5 million cubic metres, with projections remaining between 10.5 million and 12.2 million cubic metres per year. He detailed existing regulations requiring non-concrete drywalls and the Green Mark scheme’s incentives for using materials like Mass Engineered Timber. Finally, the Minister noted that the Building and Construction Authority will further emphasize concrete reduction under the Singapore Green Building Masterplan.
Transcript
8 Mr Shawn Huang Wei Zhong asked the Minister for National Development given that concrete is one of the largest emitters of CO2, (a) how much concrete is consumed in Singapore for the last five years; (b) what is the projected consumption of concrete till 2025; (c) whether there are plans to reduce concrete usage with better structural designs and use of natural materials; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider a framework for a needs-only basis for the use of concrete for essential structural and load-bearing requirements.
Mr Desmond Lee: Singapore consumed an average of 11.5 million cubic metres of concrete per year over the last five years. Concrete consumption is projected to remain within the range of 10.5 million to 12.2 million cubic metres per year until 2025.
BCA prescribes minimum environmental sustainability standards for buildings under the Building Control (Environmental Sustainability) Regulations. Projects can meet these requirements by making efficient use of concrete in the building design and using sustainable and recycled materials in concrete elements of a building. Under the Building Control (Buildability and Productivity) Regulations, BCA also requires all residential non-landed developments to use non-concrete drywalls for internal partitions between rooms. On top of this, BCA’s Green Mark scheme recognises projects that go beyond the regulatory requirements, for example, by using alternatives to concrete, such as Mass Engineered Timber.
As part of the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, BCA will place greater emphasis on reducing concrete use in the design and construction of buildings.