Statistics on Terminated Construction Contracts by HDB since February 2020

29 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many construction contracts have been terminated by HDB since February 2020; (b) what is their total contract value; and (c) what are the factors that HDB considers before deciding on termination.

Mr Desmond Lee: Since February 2020, HDB has terminated two construction contracts, with contract value of $127 Million and $5 Million respectively.

The first contract was a BTO project at Waterway Sunrise II, while the second contract was for improvement works at Multi-Storey Car Parks at HDB towns. In both cases, the contractor had difficulties completing the projects, even though HDB had provided many opportunities for them to re-schedule and catch up on their works.

HDB terminates construction contracts only as a last resort. Before deciding to terminate a contract, HDB considers factors such as whether there have been substantial delays to the project’s progress, the reasons for the delay, and the contractor's ongoing ability to complete the project on time. Typically, these contractors would encounter one or more causes of delay such as the inability to carry out works due to financial difficulties, disruption in management team, or high turnover of site supervisory personnel and lack of resources and manpower.