Promoting and Supporting Use of Prefabrication Methods for Construction Projects
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Associate Professor Terence Ho’s inquiry regarding prefabrication adoption progress, storage bottleneck solutions, and the future outlook for integrated construction and prefabrication hubs (ICPHs). Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Finance Chee Hong Tat stated that the adoption of design for manufacturing and assembly rose from under 40% in 2020 to 76% in 2025. To support this, the Building and Construction Authority is standardising components and providing temporary land plots, while ICPHs have implemented automated multi-storey storage systems. The outlook for ICPHs remains positive as they mitigate land and manpower constraints through automation and enhanced end-to-end coordination. Ultimately, these hubs are vital for achieving higher productivity and more reliable delivery through greater standardisation across Singapore’s construction sector.
Transcript
74 Assoc Prof Terence Ho asked the Minister for National Development (a) what progress has been made over the past five years in increasing the share of construction projects using prefabrication methods in Singapore; (b) what more can be done to reduce bottlenecks to adoption, such as inadequate storage space, for prefabricated components; and (c) what is the outlook for integrated construction and prefabrication hubs (ICPHs) in Singapore.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: The share of new developments that adopted design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA), has almost doubled from just under 40% in 2020 to 76% in 2025, with increased uptake of prefabrication methods across both public and private sector projects. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has been working with agencies and the industry on standardising prefabricated components to reap better economies of scale and has streamlined regulatory approvals for developers that use standardised building components across their projects of similar typologies.
To increase storage capacity, BCA has allocated temporary land plots to the industry to store prefabricated components. Integrated construction and prefabrication hubs (ICPHs) have also implemented technology solutions, such as automated multi-storey storage and retrieval systems, to enhance the efficiency of their storage spaces.
The outlook for ICPHs remains positive, supported by robust construction demand and continued adoption of DfMA. As land and manpower constraints become more acute, ICPHs will continue to play an important role in achieving higher productivity, better quality and more reliable delivery through greater standardisation, automation and end-to-end coordination.