Singapore Govt extends cash incentive scheme for green buildings
Architects and engineers can also claim up to $100k
By Jessica Cheam
THE Government’s bag of carrots to encourage the construction of green buildings just got bigger.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced yesterday that cash incentives paid to developers who put up green buildings will be extended.
In addition, key industry stakeholders such as architects and engineers will now be offered incentives, too, in recognition of the important roles they play, he said.
The Green Mark incentive scheme, launched by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) in December 2006, pays out cash grants of up to $3 million for buildings that reach high environmental standards.
Developers will see no change in the scheme, but architects and engineers can now claim up to $100,000 in cash incentives, depending on the building standard achieved and the floor area.
To encourage more green buildings, the scheme will now also apply to smaller buildings, said Mr Mah. The minimum gross floor area requirement will be cut from 5,000 sq m to 2,000 sq m.
The BCA Green Mark scheme, launched in 2005, rates buildings for their environmental impact and performance.
‘With the green building movement in Singapore gaining momentum, it is timely to enhance the scheme,’ said Mr Mah at BCA’s annual awards dinner last night.
BCA launched two new awards yesterday: the BCA Green Mark Champion Award for developers and the BCA-NParks Green Mark for Parks Award.
Local developer City Developments clinched the first award, with 21 projects rated Green Mark Gold or above. Five attained GoldPlus or platinum standards.
BCA chief John Keung said yesterday that the BCA Green Mark ‘has received strong support from major developers like City Developments’, and he hopes that more developers will ‘take the lead in achieving excellence in environmental sustainability…and strive for the higher ratings’.
For the first time, Singapore parks will be benchmarked against environmental sustainability standards.
Mr Mah gave out the new parks awards to Fort Canning Park, the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and the Chinese Garden. In addition, building professionals were honoured for construction excellence, safety and universal design.
Source : Straits Times - 23 May 2008
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