SINGAPORE – The facades of more than 4,000 Housing Board blocks islandwide will undergo enhancements and repair work under a new $338 million programme, The Straits Times has learnt.
The Facade Enhancement Programme is aimed at addressing building wear and tear due to ageing and intense weather conditions resulting from climate change, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB in response to queries by ST.
There are more than 10,000 HDB blocks across Singapore, with the oldest ones in Stirling Road in Queenstown built more than 60 years ago.
This means that just under half of all HDB blocks are expected to benefit from the new programme, which will run from now until March 2029.
As town councils are in the process of implementing the programme, the authorities said they are unable to pinpoint the locations of the 4,000 blocks.
They also declined to share details of how the blocks will be selected, saying only that the programme is “targeted at the repair and enhancement of the brick cladding and metal fixtures on the external facades of older buildings”.
Town councils are tasked with the management and maintenance of HDB block facades.
Under the new programme, HDB will co-pay 75 per cent of the cost of enhancement and repair work, up from 50 per cent under the existing Facade Finishes Repair Co-payment Scheme. Town councils will pay the remainder.
ST understands that all town councils were informed by HDB of the Facade Enhancement Programme in March and are in the process of implementing it alongside existing upgrading programmes.
The new programme does not have to be implemented concurrently with existing upgrading initiatives, such as the Home Improvement Programme and Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.
The Facade Enhancement Programme was introduced to better support town councils in carrying out inspection and replacement works, which can be complex and large in scale, and to create a safer living environment for HDB residents, said the authorities.
From 2017 to 2020, the Building and Construction Authority received reports of almost 30 incidents involving falling facade elements each year.
Most of these were related to the wear and tear of materials or connections.
In 2016 and 2018, incidents involving the falling of facade parts such as cladding board, plaster slab and concrete sunshade from HDB blocks raised safety concerns and received an airing in Parliament. No injuries were reported.
In March 2020, laws were passed to boost facade checks on older buildings, including an inspection regime that will require owners to engage professionals to check their building facades regularly.
Under the regime, buildings that are more than 13m high – or roughly four storeys – have to be inspected by trained personnel every seven years once they are over 20 years old.
In 2020, about 70 per cent of Singapore’s building stock was more than 20 years old, and the figure would have increased since.
In the reply to ST, MND and HDB reiterated their commitment to ensuring public housing estates, even older ones, remain inclusive and vibrant through upgrading works.
They said: “We will continue to rejuvenate our towns and keep public housing highly liveable and inclusive through various upgrading programmes. At the same time, we regularly review and update our policies on building safety.”
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