Mah: Five out of 12 granite barges released

INDONESIA has released five of 12 granite-carrying barges it detained, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said last night.

The other seven barges are still being held, he said. ‘We hope that all of them will be treated in a transparent manner. If they have violated any rules there, the process should take its course. If not, then they should be released soon.’

Mr Mah, speaking to reporters at the Building and Construction Authority’s annual BCA Awards, said Indonesia’s ban on sand exports is still in place. But Singapore, which used to get almost all of its sand from Indonesia, has moved on in other directions, he said.

Sources of supply are now diversified and Singapore is looking at non-concrete alternatives such as structural steel, glass and dry walls.

The authorities are also exploring substitutes for sand and granite to produce concrete, so Singapore could have ‘NewConcrete’ to go with its Newater.

‘Just as in the case of Newater, can we find an alternative for sand and granite which is economically viable and readily available - a ‘NewConcrete’, perhaps?’ Mr Mah suggested.

The disruption to the supply of sand and granite from Indonesia was a wake-up call for Singapore’s construction industry, he said. The industry has had to open up alternative supply sources and must continue to diversify supply sources.

Acknowledging that this diversification involves risks, Mr Mah said BCA will soon give details of a scheme to co-share some of these risks.

For example, the government could agree to buy sand and granite at a certain price from suppliers who import from new sources, he said. If these suppliers could not sell the sand and granite because of market changes, the government could buy the sand and put it into its stockpile, negating some of the suppliers’ risks.

Mr Mah also said the price of ready-mixed concrete has fallen since the first supply disruptions. It is now about $170-$175 per cubic metre, down from its high of more than $200 per cubic metre.

At last night’s BCA Awards, a record 27 buildings got various Green Mark awards in recognition of ‘environmental friendliness’, taking the total number of Green Mark buildings in Singapore to 60.

And for the first time, private sector buildings received Green Mark Platinum awards - the highest green building accolade here.

The platinum winners include City Developments’ City Square Mall and Oceanfront@Sentosa Cove, and the Xilinx Asia Pacific Headquarters building.

Source : Business Times - 11 May 2007