SINGAPORE — Singapore is putting another S$112 million behind the future of its built environment, with the government targeting smarter construction, greener buildings and technology-driven site supervision as the city-state prepares for increasingly complex urban projects.
The five-year investment, announced by National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat at International Built Environment Week 2026 on Sept. 2, will support research, development and the commercialisation of technologies that can be deployed in Singapore and potentially overseas.
But the funding is only part of a much broader shift.
Singapore is simultaneously refreshing its BCA Green Mark certification scheme, introducing a new SLE70 super-low-energy tier, and preparing a new accreditation and licensing framework for firms responsible for supervising major construction projects.
S$112 million to reshape how Singapore builds
The new funding falls under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 (RIE2030) plan and will support the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme and related built-environment innovation efforts.
Among the areas being targeted are:
- Safer and more productive demolition techniques
- Smarter ways to maintain buildings as they age
- Decarbonisation technologies
- Bringing promising innovations from research laboratories into actual construction projects
- Developing solutions that can eventually be commercialised in Singapore and overseas
The first grant call under the Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme is expected in October 2026.
Chee stressed that government funding alone will not determine whether the programme succeeds. The real test, he said, is whether research can produce solutions that are actually adopted and make a difference on the ground.
Singapore is raising the bar for green buildings
One of the biggest changes is the introduction of BCA Green Mark Version 7, the latest refresh of Singapore’s national green-building certification framework.
The scheme, administered by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), was first launched in 2005 and has evolved as Singapore has raised its sustainability targets.
The new version focuses on three major priorities:
1. Greening more existing buildings
Singapore wants to push sustainability beyond new developments and encourage owners of existing buildings to improve their energy performance.
2. Raising energy-efficiency standards
A new BCA Energy Rating will provide an alternative certification pathway based primarily on a building’s energy performance, allowing owners to begin their sustainability journey through energy-efficiency improvements and retrofits.
3. Making Green Mark more flexible for businesses
Owners of multiple buildings with similar characteristics will be able to streamline the recertification process by grouping properties into a single application. The revised framework will also align more closely with international sustainability and ESG reporting standards.
New SLE70 tier targets the most energy-efficient buildings
Green Mark Version 7 will also introduce SLE70, or Super Low Energy 70.
Buildings can qualify for the new tier by achieving more than 70 per cent energy savings against their building typology’s 2005 baseline.
The new tier is designed to push Singapore’s best-performing developments closer to the country’s longer-term target of an 80 per cent improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels by 2030.
Green Mark Version 7 will also recognise alternative cooling technologies, including:
- Hybrid cooling
- Active chilled beams
- Passive displacement cooling
BCA says some of these technologies can achieve up to 50 per cent energy savings compared with conventional air-conditioning systems, while nearly 50 Singapore buildings have already adopted alternative cooling technologies.
Why this matters in Singapore
The push is not simply about making buildings look “greener.”
Singapore’s built environment accounts for more than 20 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, according to Chee. Improving building efficiency is therefore a major part of the country’s broader climate strategy.
Singapore’s Green Building Masterplan has set the ambitious “80-80-80 in 2030” targets:
- 80% of buildings by gross floor area to be green by 2030
- 80% of new developments to meet Super Low Energy standards from 2030
- 80% improvement in energy efficiency for best-in-class green buildings compared with 2005 levels
BCA says Green Mark buildings already collectively save more than 4.2 billion kWh of energy annually, based on its current published figures.
A major change is also coming to construction supervision
Another potentially significant development is the new Site Supervision Firm Accreditation Scheme.
The scheme begins in September 2026, with accreditation becoming an important step toward licensing firms that will supervise major construction projects.
From 2028, developers and builders will be required to appoint licensed site-supervision firms for building works on projects exceeding S$75 million.
The accreditation process will assess whether firms have the governance structures, systems and processes needed to maintain quality and efficiency while making effective use of technology.
That includes the ability to conduct remote site supervision.
Construction inspections are becoming increasingly digital
The move toward remote supervision is part of a wider digital transformation already underway at BCA.
The authority is working on digitalising site documents and virtualising inspections, using technology to improve efficiency, accuracy and collaboration. Digital site-management platforms can centralise project information and improve communication between construction stakeholders.
Remote supervision could also reduce the amount of time qualified professionals spend travelling between multiple construction sites for routine inspections, potentially freeing up manpower for higher-value work while improving safety.
That means the construction site of the future may look very different from today’s model — with physical inspections increasingly supported by digital records, remote monitoring, drones and other operational technologies.
Singapore wants innovation that can actually be deployed
The broader message from the government’s latest initiatives is clear: Singapore is not simply funding research for research’s sake.
The goal is to move technologies from research → testing → commercialisation → widespread adoption.
BCA already runs programmes such as the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster, which supports the development and demonstration of energy-efficient technologies and provides funding and test-bedding opportunities for promising solutions.
Recent initiatives have also included technology sandboxes, procurement changes and support for automation and digital solutions in construction.
The bigger picture
Singapore is a city where land is scarce, construction is expensive and the demand for infrastructure continues to grow.
That makes productivity, energy efficiency and smarter use of technology more than environmental goals — they are increasingly economic and urban-survival priorities.
The S$112 million investment, Green Mark 7 and new site-supervision rules point toward the same objective: build more efficiently, maintain buildings more intelligently and reduce the environmental cost of a rapidly developing city.
And the biggest test may now be whether Singapore can turn these ambitious policies into technologies that are not only impressive on paper, but cheap enough, reliable enough and practical enough to transform construction sites across the city-state.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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