Construction worker influx delays $2b worth of projects

“These are necessary trade-offs,” says PM Lee.

Construction projects totaling to $2b were postponed to manage the total number of construction workers in Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a speech to Parliament on Wednesday.

With about 300,000 foreign construction workers in SG, PM Lee highlighted the need to spread out government construction projects in order to manage the total number of construction workers in the country.

“The Government, we are a significant part of the construction business, and we ask ourselves: Which government projects need to be built; which government projects can be deferred? So when it comes to HDB houses, when it comes to trains, projects which are urgent, we are going full steam ahead. But there are other projects which can wait one or two years.” said Lee.

He added that deferring the projects saves 20,000-30,000 foreign workers, which will be “helpful”.

“These are all good projects, but they will all now take a little bit longer to come,” stated Lee. “I hope Singaporeans will understand.”