Expertise and Technological Expertise of Building Industry and Contractors to Solve Water Seepage in HDB Flats

104 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the building industry and contractors have the requisite expertise and technologies to solve the increasing number of water seepage cases in HDB flats; and (b) as more HDB flats ages and more extreme weather expected, whether the Ministry will gear up the industry to have the capacity and capabilities to deal with this increasing challenge.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: We have been working with the industry to equip contractors with the necessary expertise to address water seepage issues. For instance, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the industry have co-developed a Waterproofing Accreditation Scheme, administered by the Singapore Concrete Institute. The scheme seeks to establish competency standards and recognise waterproofing specialists who are committed to delivering quality works.

Dealing with complex water seepage cases requires technical competencies and using more advanced technologies. ​The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has been supporting Town Councils and their contractors on complex cases, such as conducting joint inspections, providing technical advice and recommending necessary tests or repairs. We recognise that more can be done as some cases can be very complex. To this end, BCA and HDB will deepen their partnerships with the industry and research community to identify and scale up other effective solutions. For example, HDB is studying the use of technologies, such as microwave scanning which can scan through concrete to detect and trace the sources of seepage.