SINGAPORE: Singapore has committed another S$112 million (US$88 million) in research and innovation funding to improve the productivity and sustainability of its built environment, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said on Wednesday (Sep 2).

This is part of a range of measures announced by Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat at the opening ceremony of the International Built Environment Week to transform the sector. The event, held at Marina Bay Sands, runs from Wednesday to Friday. 

The extra S$112 million, under the next phase of the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 plan, will go towards the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme and the Built Environment Technology Alliance (BETA) Catalyst Programme.

The latest round of funding will drive research and innovation in four key areas over the next five years, in line with Singapore's latest priorities:

• Promoting productive and safe demolition methods to meet urban rejuvenation needs, while enhancing productivity and minimising disamenities in built-up areas
• Expanding capabilities to model building lifespans, improve maintenance reliability and the timeliness of repairs
• Reducing embodied carbon and improving energy efficiency towards achieving net zero carbon emissions in the built environment by 2050
• Turning research and innovation outcomes into industry applications through the BETA Catalyst Programme

The investment is "in tandem with growing industry momentum and confidence", BCA said.

It noted that more private-sector players are investing in research and innovation across successive RIE tranches, such as by co-developing innovations, taking part in pilot trials or adopting promising solutions in their projects.

The funding initiatives aim to deepen such collaboration by bringing together built environment firms, researchers and institutes of higher learning to "translate promising research into practical solutions that address real-world challenges, which can be adopted by industry", it added.

The Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme is a multi-agency effort led by the Ministry of National Development that uses research and innovation to support Singapore's development over the longer term. Under the previous RIE tranche, S$46 million was set aside in 2022 for research into advanced construction and facilities management.

The BETA Catalyst Programme is an ongoing initiative that builds ind...