Building inspections by different agencies ‘harmonise’ standards, saving costs and time: Indranee

SINGAPORE – To save time and costs for developers, different government agencies have harmonised their service standards in the inspection of new buildings for safety and compliance.

This results in savings of up to three days for each application, benefiting around 900 applications annually, said Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah.

“This streamlined approach reflects our commitment to supporting the built environment sector with clearer processes and predictable timelines, enabling engineers and firms to plan more effectively and focus on creating innovative solutions,” she said.

Ms Indranee was speaking at the World Engineering Day 2026: Charles Rudd Distinguished Global Lectures, held at Ngee Ann Polytechnic on March 10.

“The publication of the harmonised service standards provides the industry with greater timeline certainty for temporary occupation permit (TOP) and certificate of statutory completion (CSC) inspections,” she said.

TOP allows residents to legally occupy a new property, like a condominium or HDB flats, that is safe and habitable, even if minor external works are still ongoing.

CSC certifies that a building project has fully complied with all safety, health and planning regulations.

The primary agency responsible for issuing TOPs and CSCs is the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

But the process still needs clearances from several technical departments to ensure the building is safe and compliant with regulations.

Previously, the various agencies, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the Land Transport Authority and national water agency PUB, had varying response times on the scheduling of TOP inspections and follow-up responses.

It created planning uncertainty for the industry regarding project completion timelines and impacted overall project delivery schedules.

The harmonised standards are facilitated by CORENET X, a digital platform that streamlines building regulatory approvals which was soft-launched in 2023.

In addition, an “escalation framework” is being implemented under CORENET X to “ensure that applications involving conflicting agency requirements are actively surfaced for timely resolution, reducing iterations and achieving faster clearance times”, Ms Indranee said.

In December 2025, BCA had issued a circular to inform and provide clarity to the building and construction industry on the service standards by technical agencies for arrangements of safety and compliance inspections, and their post-inspection response time.

The notice said the Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee (IACC), which looks at issues related to conflicting regulatory requirements by different technical agencies encountered in construction projects, has worked with agency members on service standards to improve and harmonise response times where possible.

Ms Indranee, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance, said that as Singapore creates more efficient business processes and embraces technological innovation, “we must also ensure that our engineering solutions serve a larger purpose – building a sustainable future for generations to come”.

Singapore’s approach to sustainability focuses on two key areas: investing in climate mitigation and

building a climate-resilient nation,

she said.

“Our Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap contributes to this by guiding our efforts towards achieving the Singapore Green Building Masterplan’s (SGBMP) ‘80-80-80’ targets by 2030.

“We will need our engineers to contribute (their) skills and expertise to enhance the overall sustainability performance of our new and existing buildings, working towards various standards under the SGBMP, such as the Green Mark Certification Scheme,” she said.

The 80-80-80 targets are: to green 80 per cent of Singapore’s buildings, to have 80 per cent of new developments by gross floor area to be super low energy buildings, and to attain 80 per cent improvement in energy efficiency for best-in-class green buildings.

Ms Indranee cited the example of Samwoh Smart Hub, Singapore’s first office building that achieved Green Mark Positive Energy Building certification with more than 80 per cent energy efficiency improvement compared with 2005 levels, setting new benchmarks in energy performance and return on investment.

“Engineers must also remain open to new and innovative ways of adapting to climate change, including advanced construction methods and materials that can withstand the test of extreme weather events,” she said.