(Singapore, June 4, 2020) The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) says it has cleared and approved all applications for suspended residential renovation projects that are in order.
More than 5,400 renovation projects can now proceed to resume work. All new applications to resume works will be approved within two days if the submission is in order.
Upon approval, renovation contractors can immediately resume work with the construction workers who reside in private residential and HDB premises. These workers have all completed a 28-day Stay Home Notice during the Circuit Breaker period, and do not need to undergo a COVID-19 swab test prior to commencing work.
However, some contractors may have workers who are still residing in the dormitories. They will have to wait for the dormitories to be cleared by the Inter-Agency Taskforce before the workers can be released for work. There are also contractors whose workers are in Malaysia and are unable to travel to Singapore, as well as contractors who are unable to secure certain materials due to supply chain disruptions. For these reasons, there may be delays in the renovations works even after BCA has given the approval.
All construction workers (be it those residing in private residential / HDB premises or those in the cleared dormitories) will continue to be subject to periodic COVID-19 testing after they start work. BCA will be liaising with the contractors to arrange for these tests to be conducted. If there are positive cases detected through the tests, the affected worker(s) will have to stop work immediately, and his close contacts will all be quarantined.
For now, BCA will continue to focus on suspended residential projects.
BCA says it would clarify that renovation workers who are Work Permit or S Pass Holders are only required to register for the “COVID-Safe Training for Workers” online course at https://go.gov.sg/BESafe-Register.
The entire course is done online, and workers can start work before completing the online course. There is no need to schedule training sessions with BCA. Renovation contractors are also not required to send their workers for the “Safe Management Officers Course for Construction”, which is for on-site works.
