The first two dormitories built to the new standards will open later this year in Cochrane Crescent in Sembawang and Soon Lee Road in Jurong.

Every worker living there will have at least 4 sq m living space, including a cupboard or locker, or both, for his personal belongings. Also, no more than 12 workers will live in one room, regardless of its size. Previously, there was no limit.

The new requirements spelt out by the BCA also make it compulsory for the dorms to provide a centralised kitchen, common dining area and designated laundry areas. Other mandatory amenities include a recreational room, gymnasium and an outdoor multi-purpose court.

These minimum requirements will provide a 'self-contained, comfortable and conducive living environment' for the workers, a BCA spokesman told The Straits Times.

They will feature in new BCA-managed dormitories being built by private operators on land being released by the Government.

A sufficient number of living quarters is being planned to prepare for the expected influx of foreign workers.

Jurong GRC MP Halimah Yacob, who also heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, applauded the move, calling it 'timely and necessary'.

She said: 'Often, too many workers are crammed into one room and there is no privacy or even proper space for them.

'There is also scant regard for the workers' social and recreational needs, causing them to spill over into residential areas, creating other problems and tensions. Our foreign workers deserve to be treated as human beings, too.'

Some 50,000 more foreign workers are expected in the next few years, as major projects such as the integrated resorts get under way, adding to the 420,000 work permit holders already here.

As for its six existing dorms, the BCA said that any decision to upgrade them will be left to the operators.

Operating the Sembawang and Jurong dorms is Aik Chuan Construction, which will pay BCA $25,000 monthly as a management fee for each site, said its director Ken Lim.

He told The Straits Times that the Jurong dorm housing 4,500 workers will be ready in October. The Sembawang dorm housing 3,000 workers will be up in November.

He will be required to submit monthly reports on occupancy rate, worker numbers and updates on health, safety and security issues. Regular site checks will also be carried out to ensure operators do not cram workers into the dorms or flout other health and safety codes.

Mr Lim said he will hire 25 workers, from security officers to cooks, to run each new dorm.

In addition to BCA's new requirements, his dorms will also offer laundry services at $6 a worker and packets of cooked rice at a small fee.

'Instead of everyone cooking his own rice, why don't we do it for them? They just have to prepare the dishes,' said Mr Lim.

Employers will be charged $130 to house each worker at the new dorms and an extra $10 if the kitchen is used.

Industry players said employers currently pay $80 to $120 per worker living in quarters, including on-site containers, shophouses and dormitories. Workers pay for meals and cupboard space.

Although Mr Lim expects employers to foot the bill, foreign workers' welfare groups warned that this might not be the case. Employers The Straits Times spoke to say that industry practice now does not provide for meal allowances.

'There is a real danger of workers being made to pay for the extras and this is something that the Ministry of Manpower should monitor,' said Madam Halimah.

She added that such a situation may arise because 'it is not illegal for employers to require their foreign workers to contribute for the cost of their own lodgings'.

arlina@sph.com.sg