New licensing regime from 2028 for supervision of large-scale building works: Chee Hong Tat
Source: Business Times
Article Date: 04 Sep 2025
Author: Jessie Lim
From 2027, building owners and developers must also engage licensed firms to certify newer lifts and escalators meant for public use.
From 2028, developers and builders must engage licensed firms to supervise building works with a project value exceeding S$75 million, Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said on Wednesday (Sep 3).
This comes as Singapore faces increasingly complex project requirements, with major projects – including Changi Terminal 5, new MRT lines and HDB developments – in the pipeline.
Speaking at the awards dinner held on the first day of International Built Environment Week, Chee said: “As the projects grow more complex, the range of professional competencies required also (grows) significantly.
“For example, as we build higher up and as we go deeper underground, the team of qualified persons supporting a project must possess a range of complementary expertise, such as advanced structural and geotechnical competencies.”
From 2027, building owners and developers must also engage licensed firms to certify newer lifts and escalators meant for public use.
With a need to continue investing in talent in the built environment sector, final recommendations to address concerns and issues in the architectural and engineering trade will be released later this week.
More than 400 stakeholders including professionals, students and service buyers have shared their concerns, in areas such as pay and career development, said Chee.
They also brought up challenges firms face when competing for projects and investing in technologies.
Giving an update on the adoption of Corenet X, a platform which consolidates the process of getting approvals for building works regulatory submissions, Chee said over 50 projects involving 100 firms have used the platform since it was launched in 2023.
Almost all – 97 per cent – can achieve time savings of up to 20 per cent for regulatory approvals. “For some projects, this meant total time savings of up to two months.”
From Oct 1, 2025, Corenet X submissions will be mandatory for all new projects with gross floor area (GFA) of at least 30,000 square metres (sq m).
To nudge more companies to use the platform, the qualifying period for firms to benefit from the additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) remission timeline extension will be lengthened by nine months.
Housing developers that submit their projects through Corenet X are eligible for a six-month extension to the commencement, completion and sale timelines for their projects. This means they will have 5.5 years from the date of acquisition of the site to finish selling all their units in order to avoid a clawback of ABSD.
Developers acquiring land for residential projects are subject to an ABSD rate of 40 per cent, of which 5 per cent is paid upfront and 35 per cent is remittable. They must sell at least 90 per cent of the project to be subjected to a lower clawback rate.
Projects with GFA of at least 30,000 sq m will get the ABSD remission extension if they make their first submission to Corenet X by Sep 30, 2026.
For new projects with a GFA of less than 30,000 sq m, the qualifying period will be extended to Sep 30, 2027.
Source: The Business Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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