from the ground Up

by Jessica Cheam, The Straits Times, July 29 2009

Industry group to come up with programmes that meet SMEs’ needs

SMALLER building firms have usually been left out of the spotlight, but they will soon get plenty of attention from the new chief of the Singapore Contractors Association (Scal).
Mr Andrew Khng, who took over from Mr Desmond Hill as president of the association in May, said he would concentrate on grooming such firms and subcontractors.
“These contractors have been a group that’s quite neglected. What Scal will now do is to gather more feedback from them and tailor-make programmes to suit them,” Mr Khng told The Straits Times yesterday before Scal’s annual dinner at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
The association will launch a marketing campaign to reach out to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the industry, said Mr Khng.
Scal has 1,700 such members, comprising 70 per cent of its membership.
Members will get quarterly updates about the industry and change in government policies. “We will also be sharing information on new technologies to complement the skills sets of our SME contractors,” he said.
President S R Nathan was the guest of honour at Scal’s dinner, which attracted around 850 guests.
Mr Khng told the gathering that Singapore’s construction industry had been labelled the star performer of Singapore’s economy, with $34.6 billion worth of projects awarded last year.
But the trend is now heading down, particularly from the private residential sector.
While the Government has responded by stepping up infrastructure works to support the industry, local contractors must look further afield to strengthen their business, said Mr Khng, who is also a director at Tiong Seng Contractors.
“We must look into new opportunities locally and overseas and continuously innovate in order to achieve sustainable growth,” he said.
Scal is working with IE Singapore to foster relationships between local building firms and foreign markets such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and even Africa. Mr Khng describes these places as “hot spots for construction growth” at the moment.
He said he will focus resources on improving the export capabilities of local contractors and training builders, especially if activity drops off over the next few months.
Mr Yeow Kian Seng, the boss of Lucky Joint Construction, which specialises in underground infrastructure work, said he was happy to hear that help is on the way to help firms like his expand overseas.
“In developing countries, it’s so important to make the right contacts and to learn about the rules, laws and tax structures of the country,” said Mr Yeow.
Sustainability will also be addressed by Scal’s new leadership.
The association has set up two committees – one on environment sustainability and another on productivity and technology – to promote best and green practices to minimise wastage in the industry, said Mr Khng.
The association responded yesterday to a request by President Nathan and donated $100,000 to the publishing of a book called Chronicles Of Singapore, which will showcase the Republic’s 50 years of nation building.
The book will be launched in November.