Hi Guys,

The recent news of the indon sand ban surprised the real estate and construction market in SG. Think many were caught off guard esp. with so many projects in the pipeline.

My project managers/ contractors/ engineers are already complaining about price hikes and even suppliers terminating pre-committed contracts cos they cant cope with the demand. How true is this??

I thot BCA is already sourcing for alternatives and a new batch of sand has just arrived in SG? I thot, BCA also have reserves?

Wat the hell are the indons doing??

Any comments???

Business Times - 30 Jan 2007


Sand shipment from outside Indonesia arrives

By UMA SHANKARI

(SINGAPORE) The government said yesterday the first big shipment of land sand from outside Indonesia has arrived - as the search continues for new sources after Singapore's near neighbour announced a ban on sand exports.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said efforts by the Housing Board to diversify supplies of land sand paid off yesterday with the first consignment of 400,000 tonnes from a 'regional source' arriving at Jurong Port.

The shipment is expected to be the first of many, said BCA. 'The quality of the concreting sand from these sources has been tested and meets Singapore's standards and requirements,' it said. 'With these new sources, the industry can meet its immediate requirements.' The moves come as Indonesia's ban on sand exports causes slowdowns at construction sites here. Contractors say the price of land sand has risen in the past few days and supply has tightened.

Singapore has been getting almost all of its land sand from Indonesia, which says it has imposed a ban for environmental reasons and to protect its borders. Land sand is used to produce ready-mixed concrete for the construction industry. While exporters have until Feb 5 to send sand from Indonesia, shortages and slowdowns at construction sites were being seen late last week. And, as of yesterday, the price of ready-mix concrete had climbed about 30 per cent.

When the Singapore government announced on Jan 24 that Indonesia was banning exports of sand, industry players estimated that overall construction costs here could climb 3-10 per cent. Construction costs typically make up about 15-25 per cent of development costs.

BCA yesterday reiterated the government's intention to release sand it has stored. 'While opening up new sources of supply, the government will also be releasing sand from its stockpile to cushion any transitional disruption to the supply,' BCA said. 'This will help the industry to cope with the sudden announcement on sand export ban by Indonesia last week. BCA will be briefing the key stakeholders on the details of stockpile release in the next few days.'

BCA also continued to urge contractors and developers to use alternative construction methods and materials to reduce the need for concreting sand. Singapore's largest developer, CapitaLand, said yesterday its business has not been hit by higher sand costs.

Hi Guys,

The recent news of the indon sand ban surprised the real estate and construction market in SG. Think many were caught off guard esp. with so many projects in the pipeline.

My project managers/ contractors/ engineers are already complaining about price hikes and even suppliers terminating pre-committed contracts cos they cant cope with the demand. How true is this??

I thot BCA is already sourcing for alternatives and a new batch of sand has just arrived in SG? I thot, BCA also have reserves?

Wat the hell are the indons doing??

Any comments???

The new source of sand is Vietnam. Not to worry - prices should settle down soon though should be a bit higher since transport costs are higher i trasporting the sand from Vietnam.

So sad.... the huge land reclaimation project in Pulau Tekong is still one big water-filled hole in the middle. This can be seen when airliners take off northwards from Changi Airport. How many far-flung shipment of sand do we need to import to fill it up.

I wonder when we would ever complete the land reclaimation, if ever, without sand from Indonesia or Malaysia.

Hi Nav14,

Are you driving a Nissan Cefiro by any chance?

Hi Nav14,

Are you driving a Nissan Cefiro by any chance?

Yes, you must be surfing the car websites as well?

Yes, you must be surfing the car websites as well?
What a coincidence. Remember that big Sonata/Latio war that raged on when you were deciding what to replace your 14-year old Mercs E240 with?

Hope all is well now. :lol:

What a coincidence. Remember that big Sonata/Latio war that raged on when you were deciding what to replace your 14-year old Mercs E240 with?

Hope all is well now. :lol:

Good memory. I remember seeing your nick somewhere but could not recall on which website. Now I spend more time surfing the property websites. My Cefiro should be due for a change next year.

this is not the first time this happened and certainly not the first time the government/press did not mention anything about this issue publicly

Sand ban a wake-up call for industry: architects

30 Jan 07

SINGAPORE : The recent Indonesian ban on the sale of sand to Singapore has been an effective wake-up call for the industry, say architects.

Sustainable construction and alternative materials are now the buzzwords.

The Singapore Institute of Architects has also proposed a million-dollar research programme to look into solutions.

400,000 tonnes of sand from a regional country arrived at Jurong Port on Monday, just a week after Indonesia, the main supplier of sand to Singapore, banned all sand exports.

Architects say over-reliance on traditional sources and materials is due to a lack of research into sustainable construction now.

Tai Lee Siang, Council Member, Singapore Institute of Architects, said, "It does mean that what is really the new material that builders architects can depend on? There is a lack of research in the industry, even from the institute's point of view. We noticed that because of the good growth.

"There is a lack of research to anticipate problems to prepare for rainy days, so we want to embark on a research programme, we want the industry players to spend more on research to prepare ourselves, as sustainability issues are very great and environmental changes very great and all these will impact how we build."

Architect Tay Kheng Soon, who has been one of the key voices for sustainable development in Singapore, agrees that more needs to be done.

Tay Kheng Soon, Architect, Akitek Tenggara, said, "It is a great opportunity to rethink our building systems. Any change that happens has to be driven by certain forces - the sand ban is one of them, but the big question is really sustainable development."

And many ideas are already being explored - like those by architect Jeremy Chan, who is looking at dry wall construction and triangular steel frames to reduce the amount of steel used.

He said, "Our industry is very used to using reinforced concrete in most of our construction, so this kind of really throws us into the deep end to think of a totally new way to conceptualising architecture and maximising a different material and expressing it in a different way."

Architect Mak Hon Yue has done an experiment on seacrete or sea concrete - which is an alternative to concrete.

Seacrete can be grown by passing an electric current through sea water to build up minerals and eliminates the need for sand.

He said, "There must be a culture of looking at alternative materials which is not really apparent in Singapore. And without that culture, we can't move ahead, we can't begin to develop alternatives if people are not interested in it, or they can't find commercial value in it, they won't pursue it, and I think that's very important.

"The reason why seacrete is not widely used, talked about is because people have yet to see the commercial viability of it - it's definitely sustainable - it's just to get people to see the commercial viability of it."

And the potential for seacrete is huge.

Mr Tay said, "In about 10 years, If you start now, theoretically, you could have a gigantic floating platform out there, outside Pasir Panjang and we could use it for our new seaport or resorts or whatever. We can live without sand."

The Building & Construction Authority has already come out to encourage the industry to adopt new construction materials and methods, while the proposed research programme by the Singapore Institute of Architects will also go some way to reduce the dependence on imported raw materials like sand.


By Farah Abdul Rahim, Channel NewsAsia

Title : S'pore can cope with sand ban in the long term as well
By :
Date : 03 February 2007 1931 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/256476/1/.html

SINGAPORE: Singapore will be able to cope with the sand ban, not just in the short term, but also in the medium and long term.

That is the reassurance by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who was speaking on the issue for the first time on Saturday.

He also said that the government plans to co-share up to 75 percent of the increase in the cost of sand with contractors on current government projects, in a one-off measure to help them tide over the disruption.

Mr Mah said it is fair for all parties to share the additional costs.

"We will take each particular contract and look at the additional costs involved and then work out a kind of co-sharing. We will share a significant part of the costs, based on where the burden falls. I expect all public sector agencies will negotiate with their contractors and I also expect the developers in the private sector to do likewise," said the National Development Minister.

Mr Mah remained tight-lipped on how much this move will cost the government, as this would vary on a project-to-project basis.

He said: "We are prepared to share a significant amount, a significant part of the costs. It can go up to as high as 75 percent, if necessary, but it all depends on each particular project, each particular contract.

"As I said, this is a one-off measure; it's a measure we believe will help all parties. Each party shares the burden fairly and in this way, we can overcome this temporary disruption and we can move on."

The building of major projects such as the integrated resorts will continue on schedule, with minimal impact.

Looking ahead, Mr Mah also said more needs to be done for the medium and long term.

He added that Singapore has already received two shipments of sand this week, after the ban.

But there is still a need for the industry to look at exploring alternative methods and construction materials to reduce the demand for sand. - CNA/so

As more Indons buy properties in Singapore.....more problems...



Mar 26, 2007
Reuters

A Singapore-owned granite quarry in the Riau Islands was hit by four explosions last Friday, temporarily halting production at the site, which accounts for about half of the Republic's granite needs.

A report in The Straits Times today said the blasts happened at around 2am on Friday at PT Karimun Granite's site in the Riau Islands, about an hour's ferry ride from Singapore.

The cause of the explosion is unknown at present, but sabotage has not been ruled out.



Reports in the Indonesian media said that the aftermath include damaged areas on the quarry's two loading piers, knocking out the conveyor system used to transfer granite chips onto barges. Electricity supply was also disrupted, but there were no casualties.

Eyewitness Atan, a fisherman, told Antara news agency that the blasts caused huge fireballs.

The explosions threaten to further damage Singapore's resurgent construction industry, and the Riau Pos newspaper suggested on Saturday that the blasts were related to a recent controversy over granite exports.

PT Karimun Granite is owned and run by the building materials arm of Hong Leong Asia, a Singapore company which acquired a majority stake in it in 2000.

It is South-east Asia's largest hard rock quarry operation, exporting up to 5 million tonnes of granite annually from 2001 to 2005 and hitting a high of 5.1 million tonnes last year.

The indefinite suspension of operations at the quarry could worsen Singapore's ongoing construction materials crunch, as Hong Leong Asia is one of Singapore's largest building materials suppliers.

PT Karimun Granite supplies projects such as those of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, the Housing Board and Jurong Island. It has not supplied any granite to Singapore for a month, said Mr Arif Rahman, general manager of the quarry.

The Indonesian navy recently stopped a 3,000 tonne shipment on suspicion the barge was being used to smuggle sand, which was banned from export last month by Indonesia on the basis of environmental and maritime reasons.

Due to the recent upturn in Singapore's construction sector, Hong Leong Asia recently invested in additional equipment to boost production at its Karimun quarry.

As more Indons buy properties in Singapore.....more problems...



Mar 26, 2007
Reuters

A Singapore-owned granite quarry in the Riau Islands was hit by four explosions last Friday, temporarily halting production at the site, which accounts for about half of the Republic's granite needs.

A report in The Straits Times today said the blasts happened at around 2am on Friday at PT Karimun Granite's site in the Riau Islands, about an hour's ferry ride from Singapore.

The cause of the explosion is unknown at present, but sabotage has not been ruled out.



Reports in the Indonesian media said that the aftermath include damaged areas on the quarry's two loading piers, knocking out the conveyor system used to transfer granite chips onto barges. Electricity supply was also disrupted, but there were no casualties.

Eyewitness Atan, a fisherman, told Antara news agency that the blasts caused huge fireballs.

The explosions threaten to further damage Singapore's resurgent construction industry, and the Riau Pos newspaper suggested on Saturday that the blasts were related to a recent controversy over granite exports.

PT Karimun Granite is owned and run by the building materials arm of Hong Leong Asia, a Singapore company which acquired a majority stake in it in 2000.

It is South-east Asia's largest hard rock quarry operation, exporting up to 5 million tonnes of granite annually from 2001 to 2005 and hitting a high of 5.1 million tonnes last year.

The indefinite suspension of operations at the quarry could worsen Singapore's ongoing construction materials crunch, as Hong Leong Asia is one of Singapore's largest building materials suppliers.

PT Karimun Granite supplies projects such as those of the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, the Housing Board and Jurong Island. It has not supplied any granite to Singapore for a month, said Mr Arif Rahman, general manager of the quarry.

The Indonesian navy recently stopped a 3,000 tonne shipment on suspicion the barge was being used to smuggle sand, which was banned from export last month by Indonesia on the basis of environmental and maritime reasons.

Due to the recent upturn in Singapore's construction sector, Hong Leong Asia recently invested in additional equipment to boost production at its Karimun quarry.


:ohno: This is definitely not good news.

Eventually we need sand from ?Vietnam and China.
We are a small red dot.But we cause sore eyes around us due to our success.
Our weakness is our neighbours.So when you buy a property hope you can buy one with good neighbours.

Good news!Myanmar offers to supply Singapore with sand, granite .

yes thats excellent news.....current concrete price is mad (or perhaps its just that owners dont want to pay more) ...steel price is also rising at a high price

defintely other soucres will be scout for...

Wat the hell are the indons doing??


Try to save our environment from serious damaged and maintain out territorial
btw its Indonesia, not such country named Indons

Try to save our environment from serious damaged and maintain out territorial
btw its Indonesia, not such country named Indons


By the way, it's Indonesians - not Indonesia.
By the way, it's damage - not damaged.
By the way, it's our - not out.
By the way, it's terriority - not terriorial.

This is just a forum, there is no need to correct someone's else English.

Im not try to correct someone English
FYI Indon is very offensive word for us Indonesian
Try to understand my sentence first before counter me
not such country named Indons
Because u look smart, look smart

*sigh

yes minor spelling error shoundnt be a problem but for identity words such as mentioned in the previous posts is rather sensitive and should be corrected whenever possible, its like calling singaporeans as singay or singi or something not meant to be...


back on topic about SAND...

Certain quarters of our ppl call us sinkapore.

Hey ...

Dont quarrel la ...
I beleive in Adam Smith .. and the invisible hand ... if Ah Lim the fish too expensive .. we just have to get from Ah Huay ...

If Tiong Bahru Market Ah Seng close shop dont sell tofu ... u just have to go Bt Merah market and buy from Ah Beng lor ... a bit tedious ... a bit more expensive ... but ... it will work out ... esp for commodity ...

My question is ... is the SAND issue proping up property prices ? And if so (which I think) ... then by how much ?

YFG ... ...

What is the environmental argument about the sand? Is this the Indonesians siding with Malaysia about the reclamation of Palau Tekong supposedly causing floods in Johor or is this about damage to the environment in Indonesia as a result of removing their sand?

Channel News Asia
9 April 2007

Singapore is looking at re-opening a granite quarry on Pulau Ubin, according to Minister of State for National Development Grace Fu.

She said this on Monday in response to questions from MPs in Parliament on whether Singapore had alternative sources of granite.

Singapore's supply of granite and sand from Indonesia had been affected recently when Jakarta announced a ban on sand exports and later detained some barges carrying granite to Singapore.

Ms Fu said that while Singapore has sourced and received imports from other granite sources, efforts will be made to ensure that the supply line is further diversified to enhance resilience for the local construction industry.

She said that while Singapore looks to buy from as many sources as possible, to build its stockpile and work with the industry for more sustainable construction methods, one other alternative is to look into the local granite sources.

Ms Fu said there will be some limited quarrying and the HDB will look into re-opening one of its quarries on Pulau Ubin.

Pulau Ubin lies on the northeastern tip of Singapore.

The island was once a thriving centre for granite quarrying, employing several hundreds of quarry workers.

When limited quarrying work is started on the outlying island of Ubin, Ms Fu said efforts will be made to ensure environment protection.

Ms Fu said marine life, which is rich on Pulau Ubin, will be taken care of with measurements being made of the water content discharged as well as the discharge rate from the quarry site.

Safety is another issue that's being kept in mind and Ms Fu said precautions will be taken such as the sounding of sirens to warn of blasting and the use of barricades to cordon off the area when blasting takes place.

In addition, dust from the blasting will be both monitored and managed.

Ms Fu revealed that the Kekek Quarry has been chosen for re-opening as it is far from the residential area of Pulau Ubin, therefore minimising the impact on the island's residents.

At the same time, Kekek is close to a barge so granite can be transported with disruptions to life on the island kept minimal.

She said the consensus is to keep Pulau Ubin as a place for leisure, so blasting and mining activities will not take place on weekends or at night.

At the end of the exercise, Ms Fu said, efforts will also be made to rehabilitate the quarry area.

Wong SiewYing
Channel NewsAsia
23 April 2007, 1809 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpldL7EB.jpg
Granite import for Singapore


The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has mapped out a plan to drastically cut Singapore's dependence on sand and granite.

About 95 percent of building projects in Singapore are concrete-based and highly dependent on sand.

With its Sustainable Construction Masterplan, the BCA wants to bring this down to below 50 percent over the next five years.

Dry partition walls will be a cornerstone of environmentally-friendly and sustainable construction, which calls for materials to be available on a regular basis and come from multiple sources.

They are made of metal frames and plasterboards and do not require sand and water, typically used for concrete mixes.

Such drywalls are currently installed in many private residential projects, to replace conventional brick walls that separate rooms in the apartment.

Some common misconceptions about drywalls are that they are hollow and have poor sound insulation.

However, contractors have said that is not the case.

For instance, a 90mm drywall has thermal and sound insulation quality comparable to a 115mm thick brick wall, and it is just as strong.

Developers said the light weight drywalls could be put up four times faster than brick walls.

So it helps to generate some savings in the process and cut down on waste and pollution.

Allen Ang, Senior Manager, Projects Division, City Developments Limited, said, " (A) drywall uses less workers, less natural materials such as sand and water; it's faster than than traditional brick wall. If I factor all these in, the cost savings is on average 24 percent.

"From our experience (of) developing City Square Mall, a large scale shopping mall, the savings as a result of using drywalls in lieu of traditional brick walls amounted to about 50 truckloads of sand; when translated to dollars, it's about S$36,000."

To further reduce the demand on sand and granite, building designers are encouraged to explore alternative materials like steel and glass, used in projects like the National Library and the Fusionopolis.

These can cut concrete use by some 70 percent.

Though some argue that construction costs could climb by up to 10 percent, industry players said the rise in prices of sand and granite would give developers more incentive to turn to steel.

Currently, structural steel design codes here are based on British Standards, and BCA hopes to release new guidelines in steel manufactured to other standards in three months.

Recycled construction waste like concrete and incinerator ash can also get a second lease of life as a road kerb or for layering of roads.

Authorities are also working with the National University of Singapore to process "spent copper slag", a by-product of sand blasting, to partially replace natural sand.

Hardware aside, the BCA has trained 150 practitioners on advance steel design and construction since February this year, and more courses will be introduced.

It will work with the Singapore Structural Steel Society on more training programmes, as well as local universities to beef up the curriculum on structural steel design.

Also in the pipeline are discussions on whether it is time to review the legislation to ensure that all projects adopt a minimum level of sustainable construction.

PM Lee Hsien Loong and Singapore delegation arrive in Bali.

Damn on man our PM.
Sand problem solved.
:cheers:

^^ Not that simple.

Indonesia will delay things a while so that they will not be accused of using the sand ban to pressure singapore to sink that treaty.

http://sg.yimg.com/i/sg/providers/cnalogo4.gif
Restrictions on sand exports by Vietnam will not hurt supply in Singapore
Tan Hui Leng & Imelda Saad
Channel NewsAsia
Wednesday, 7 October 2009, 2243 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpldBCBo.jpg

Singapore's Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said Wednesday the recent restrictions on sand exports by Vietnam have not affected the supply of construction sand to Singapore.

It was responding to MediaCorp New's enquiries following reports that Vietnam has suspended exports of sand to the island-state due to concerns that the current pace of extraction will damage the Mekong Delta.

BCA said Singapore's import of construction sand is a commercial activity, and added that the industry has been importing construction sand from various countries in the region.

Singapore has also started using recycled materials as an alternative to construction sand.

BCA said in October last year that two companies - Holcim and ecoWise - have set up the Geocycle Singapore plant to process copper slag for concreting and other uses.

Separately, the construction industry here said it has not yet felt the impact of any immediate sand shortage.

Property analysts said although developers are likely to pass on any increase in construction cost to the consumers, whether contractors will jack up prices is another question.

Cushman and Wakefield Singapore's managing director Donald Han noted that construction costs have come down by some 20 to 25% since the peak in mid-2008, and is still in a bit of lull.

"In 2007, the market was hit quite substantially as there were big ticket tenders out on the market place like the Integrated Resorts," said Han.

"Now, there are hardly any billion-dollar projects, even the construction of the Sports Hub has been deferred; residential projects are not big ticket items and will not create competition for the sand."

The Indonesian ban on sand two years ago saw the industry facing a sand supply crunch for at least two to three months.

Then, concrete prices went up from S$70 to S$200 per cubic metre.

Sand prices also went up from S$20 to between S$60 and S$70 per cubic metre as alternative distant sources were sought.

http://sg.yimg.com/i/sg/providers/cnalogo4.gif
Private sector takes initiatives to reduce dependency on sand imports
Ryan Huang
Channel NewsAsia
Thursday, 8 October 2009, 2131 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpGFoxpx.jpg

Some contractors are taking no chances with news that Vietnam is banning sand exports to Singapore on worries that the pace of extraction would damage the Mekong Delta.

One company, Alliance Concrete, has been in talks with quarry operators to invest in technology that will make a substitute for sand.

It's looking to rope in partners for the initiative to ensure a more diversified source of building materials.

Alliance Concrete is one Singapore contractor that is shielding itself against any negative effects from Vietnam's ban on sand exports. It's building up its own stockpiles which it believes will last over a month.

Many contractors have generally moved away from fixed cost contracts to ones with clauses that will allow it flexibility to negotiate more competitive prices when there are fluctuations in materials costs.

It has moved away from fixed cost contracts to give its flexibility to negotiate more competitive prices when there are fluctuations in materials costs.

And it's also looking for viable alternatives to sand.

The company is in talks with quarry operators to invest in technology and machinery that can process a by-product of granite which can be use as a partial substitute for natural sand.

Goh Siew Huat, chief executive officer, Alliance Concrete, said: "The specially manufactured sand is a little bit more expensive but I believe in time to come in Singapore will be the solution."

Alliance said talks have been positive so far with at least one operator already committing to investments.

The ban by Vietnam on sand exports comes a few months after a similar move by Cambodia and two years after Indonesia.

The industry appears more prepared this time for potential disruptions in sand supply.

Views are divided on whether Vietnam's ban will push up sand prices in Singapore.

Alliance and the Singapore Contractors Association said there is nothing to worry about because Singapore has many sources such as Myanmar, China, and Thailand.

But the Ready-mixed Concrete Association has other views.

Dr Sujit Ghosh, president, Ready-mixed Concrete Association, said: “Sand is required in the production of ready-mixed concrete and the demand of ready-mixed concrete is quite buoyant and construction is moving up. So it may have some pressure on the prices of sand and also the prices of sand substitutes we use in concrete. I cannot put any numbers to that, so we'll have to see."

Alliance said there are some expectations that demand for construction for materials will pick up as property development projects kick in next year.

According to Alliance, the construction of the Marina Coastal Expressway, which is scheduled for 2010, is expected to raise demand for concrete by about 10 per cent.

The cost of sand has been stable over the past few months at around S$30 per tonne, with concrete at S$80 per cubic metre.

This is less than half the peak in the aftermath of Indonesia's ban two years ago.

The Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore (Redas) declined to comment saying that this issue would be more of a concern to contractors and subcontractors.