Supply Chain Audit to Evaluate Environmental Impact of Any Upcoming Land Reclamation Projects
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether the Government will conduct full supply chain audits for land reclamation projects and make environmental impact assessments public. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee replied that such studies are required and generally made public unless security considerations exist. He explained that these reports guide planning and mitigation in consultation with technical agencies to address impacts on marine ecology. To manage the supply chain, sand suppliers must provide valid export licenses and comply with the legal and environmental procedures of source countries. Minister for National Development Desmond Lee emphasized that sand tender contracts mandate contractor adherence to the laws and environmental regulations of the source nations.
Transcript
53 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Government will consider a full supply chain audit to evaluate the environmental impact of any upcoming land reclamation projects; and (b) whether the environmental impact assessment will be made public.
Mr Desmond Lee: All land reclamation projects are required to undergo environmental studies to assess the possible environmental impact, such as on water quality and marine ecology. The process includes an in-depth consultation with Technical Agencies such as NParks, NEA, MPA and SFA. The environmental studies guide the planning of the reclamation, including measures to mitigate the impact on the environment, where necessary. The environmental study reports are made publicly available, unless there are overriding security considerations that require us to maintain confidentiality.
The import of reclamation sand to Singapore, like other construction materials, is done on a commercial basis. To mitigate the environmental impact across the supply chain, suppliers of reclamation sand are required to comply with local legal procedures governing the proper extraction or transportation of sand from areas where they are legally permitted to do so, as well as any legislation on environmental impact. They are required to produce export licenses and permits from the relevant authorities in the source countries, before they are allowed to commence sand imports. Our sand tender contracts also include clauses mandating that contractors must comply with the laws and environmental regulations of the source countries.