BPM201: Government “Pump Priming” in Construction Refers to the Injection: Construction Economics Assignment, SUSS, Singapore

Question 1

Refer to Table 1.1 of your Study Guide and also further resources on CANVAS which provides information on Singapore’s construction demand over the years. Evaluate the following:

• Analyze using a table and compare the differences and similarities (if any) between the public sector and private sector construction demand.
• Using the private residential property index by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the HDB resale price index by Housing & Development Board (HDB), evaluate the correlation between the housing price index and its construction demand. Explain what are the differences between the private and public (HDB) construction demand over the years with respect to their price indexes.
• Search for Singapore’s GDP over the years and produce a graph to show Singapore GDP versus the construction demand over the years. Identify any trends and suggest an explanation for these trends if any.

Question 2

Government “pump priming” in construction refers to the injection of government projects during a recession so as to prop up the construction industry to even out the construction project load.

Explore and discuss the economic situations and the various pump-priming measures implemented by the Singapore government during the period:

• 2008 to 2009
• 2014 to 2015
• Evaluate if the Singapore construction industry cycle is no longer at its trough.

Question 3

Refer to the Building Construction Authority directory of registered contractors and licensed builders – https://www.bca.gov.sg/BCADirectory/Classification/Details/128.

With reference to the “General Building A1” category, using a SWOT and Dunning OLI matrix as shown below in Table 3, evaluate the competitiveness of an A1 contractor. Evaluate the competitiveness of the contractor and provide insights into the contractor’s performance.

Question 4

Building Construction Authority (BCA) has identified in the Construction Industry Transformation Map (ITM) ‘Integrated Digital Delivery’ as one of its transformation pillars.

• Map out a typical design, tender, build and operate the construction process. Explain what role does ‘Integrated Digital Delivery’ play in this mapped process.
• Discuss if the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is more for BCA’s compliance or as a business transformational tool.