NEA urges firms to tap on Quieter Construction Fund
SINGAPORE — Despite a drop in noise-related complaints involving construction sites — 19,800 in 2012 to 16,000 last year — the National Environment Agency (NEA) is pressing on with efforts to reduce noise levels at work sites through the Quieter Construction Fund (QCF) launched last year.
The QCF provides subsidies — of up to S$100,000 or 5 per cent of the project contract value, whichever is lower — for firms looking to tap noise-reduction solutions such as quieter construction equipment. To date, the agency has received 50 applications to utilise the fund. Fourteen were approved and S$415,000 of the S$10 million set aside for the fund has been disbursed.
The decline in complaints came after the NEA tightened noise-pollution regulations in 2011 and required construction work to cease from 10pm on Saturdays and the eve of public holidays to 7am on Monday or the day after the public holiday.
However, last year’s figure is still higher than that in 2010, when there were 14,900 complaints.
Asked about the figures, Mr Khairul Samsudin, principal engineer of the NEA’s Pollution Control Department, said: “We hope to engage industry stakeholders through the Singapore Contractors Association (SCA) to better understand ... (and) engage them directly to find out more about how to improve the take-up rate (of the QCF) and how to make it more attractive (to construction companies).”
He added: “If need (be), we will consider revising the QCF.”
Mr Khairul also noted that firms involved in private-sector projects tend to be less receptive to adopting noise-reduction approaches. In comparison, government projects involving HDB flats and MRT construction usually have no problems implementing noise barriers, for example.
Guan Chuan Engineering Construction managing director David Liaw, whos company tapped the QCF to buy a silent piler — a machine used to lay steel foundation beams into the ground — said such methods could improve productivity.
“(Fewer noise) complaints mean there are (fewer) stoppages from the authority … we are able to carry out our operations very smoothly instead of (receiving) stop-work orders from the NEA. This means higher productivity,” he said.
The silent piler is half as noisy as a hydraulic vibratory hammer that does the same job, but is costly. Prices range from S$600,000 to S$1 million and not all companies are willing to invest, said Mr Liaw.
Another noise-reduction method is the use of crack inducers to remove excess dried-up cement from foundation piles of buildings. Most companies use a hydraulic breaker that drills off the excess concrete.
HSL Ground Engineering, a construction firm that uses crack inducers, said such tools are less noisy and also allow more piles to be laid within the same period of time at a cost that is comparable to the conventional method’s.
The company’s director Chris Teo, however, noted that getting companies to adopt this alternative is a challenge, attributing it to some firms’ reluctance to try new methods. “People have been using the traditional method (hydraulic breakers) ... They don’t like to (break away from) conventional practices,” he said.
