Extension of Enhanced Workflow for Identifying and Resolving Clashes Between Underground Utility Projects to Other Entities
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) enhanced workflow for resolving underground utility clashes and the Singapore Land Authority's (SLA) centralised portal will be extended to Town Councils. Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked if Town Councils and their contractors would be required to use these platforms to submit and access underground utility data. In response, Minister Chee Hong Tat explained that the URA workflow and SLA portal are targeted at coordinating large-scale utility projects undertaken by Government agencies and utility licensees to optimise underground space and prevent conflicts. He noted that such major infrastructure works differ significantly from Town Council utility works, which are typically localised and smaller in scale, such as routine maintenance and repairs. Consequently, Minister Chee Hong Tat stated that Town Council works are not within the scope of URA's enhanced workflow or SLA's centralised portal submission requirements.
Transcript
115 Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the enhanced workflow introduced by URA since 2024 to identify and resolve clashes between underground utility projects will be extended to other entities carrying out underground works, such as Town Councils; (b) if so, by when; and (c) whether Town Councils and their contractors will be required to submit and access underground utility data through Singapore Land Authority's planned centralised portal.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA's) enhanced workflow is intended to improve the upfront coordination process for the planning and implementation of large-scale utility projects, such as major road and rail projects, as well as large transmission utility pipes and underground cables. The Singapore Land Authority's (SLA's) centralised portal is similarly focused on accepting survey submissions for large-scale utility projects. These initiatives help optimise how we use underground spaces for large-scale utility projects, avoid utility alignment conflicts that may cause downstream abortive works and reduce repeated road openings.
While such large-scale utility projects could be within or adjacent to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate boundaries, they are typically implemented by Government agencies, such as the Land Transport Authority, HDB, JTC Corporation and the Public Utilities Board, or utility licensees, such as SP PowerGrid and Singtel. In contrast, utility works carried out by Town Councils, such as the maintenance and repair of utilities, are typically localised in nature and smaller in scale. Such works are not within the scope of URA's enhanced workflow and SLA's centralised portal submission requirements.