Dealing with Construction Permits in
Singapore
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
SGD 500,000
- City: Singapore
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain written permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority
This application for permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) can be done electronically by a Qualified Professional (QP) through the Electronic Development Applications. The company must submit a form, along with the following:
- Proposal and sketch plans,
- Survey plans for sloping or undulating sites.
Companies can apply to URA via two schemes: normal and Plan Lodgement Scheme. Launched in 1995, the Plan Lodgment Scheme allows for projects that fulfill the qualifying criteria (see http://www.ura.gov.sg/dc/lodgment/dc-lodgment-hdb_jtc.htm) to be submitted and approved online immediately. The application is made either through JTC system or through URA's EDA system. The fees for a plan lodgment are SGD 800 plus 7% GST. The Plan Lodgment Scheme is applicable to industrial and warehouse development on land owned by JTC and the HDB, which forms about 90% of industrial land in Singapore. All Qualified Persons (i.e. Architects or Engineers) are allowed to submit their development proposals under the Plan Lodgment Scheme. There is no restriction on the size or type of the industrial developments or the QP’s firms. In 2007, nearly 70% (562 out of 830) of the industrial and warehouse development proposals are eligible for approval under the Plan Lodgment Scheme. However, if the land is not under either JTC or Housing and Development Board (HDB is for residential developments) scheme, and under freehold ownership the application would go through a normal clearance process.
Although the application submitted under the normal scheme itself takes a day, it takes on average about 14 days for the URA to process it and grant permission. URA does not have a time-limit, but rather operates under a targeted threshold. According to that target 90% of cases must be cleared in 4 weeks. The written permission is valid for 2 years, during which time the work must be completed.
The application fee for normal process is SGD 2,500 for the first 1,000 sq. m. and SGD 60 for each additional 100 sq. m. (plus 7% general service tax).
The case considered here assumes a commercial warehouse for storing books, which would be classified as a Group 3 land-intensive development.
A fee schedule is available at http://www.ura.gov.sg/forms/doc/dc-fee2007.pdf.
Agency: Urban Redevelopment Authority
|
14 days
|
SGD 2,868
|
| * 2 |
Obtain structural plan approval and building commencement permit
Qualified Professionals submit the structural plans through CORENET system operated by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). The permit will not be issued without the written or provisional permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and payment of any development charges, if applicable. Most of companies submit their application to URA and BCA for structural approval at the same time. They can time it in a way that the structural approval is granted a day after the URA issues planning permission. Construction work must commence within 24 months from the approval date.
The structural plan approval can be granted along with building commencement permit that gives the right to physically begin the construction.
Since 2008 the BCA runs a data management module in its application processing system to monitor its performance standard. It also introduced mobile phone short message & e-mail notification to inform the applicants on their applications status in an instantaneous manner.
Since September 1, 2005, the fee schedule is as follows:
- SGD 300 per 100 sq. m. for the first 2,500 sq, m. of standard gross floor area (SGFA).
- SGD 200 for each subsequent 100 sq. m. of SGFA.
Hence, in this case, the total fee charged for 1,300 sq. m. is 13 x SGD 300 = SGD 3,900.
Agency: Building & Construction Authority (BCA)
|
14 days
|
SGD 3,900
|
| * 3 |
Obtain technical clearance from the Fire Safety & Shelter Department (FSSD) of the Singapore Civil Defence Force
Qualified Professional, acting on behalf of BuildCo, submits the relevant parts of application to Fire Safety and Shelter Department (FSSD) of the Singapore Civil Defense Force. The application is made through CORENET system. Simultaneously, the applications can be submitted via CORENET to the National Environment Agency (NEA) for clearance of sewerage/sanitary works, drainage works, pollution control matters and environmental health matters, as well as Land and Transport Authority (LTA) for road plans and parking facility clearance. In other cases, plans must be submitted to the Marine and Port Authority and the National Parks Board.
Although, officially it takes only 2 working days to obtain approval from FSSD, the overall time required fro approval from NEA and LTA would be close to 7 working days.
The technical clearances can be completed while the written permission from URA is still pending.
Agency: Fire Safety & Shelter Department/LTA/MEWR
|
10 days
|
SGD 1,950
|
| * 4 |
Technical consultation with the Central Building Plans Unit of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources
Qualified Professional obtains clearance from NEA on environmental building plan matters. The building plan for the warehouse development for storage of books is registered within 1 working day based on QP's declaration that the building plans are prepared in accordance with environmental codes.
Agency: National Environment Agency
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 5 |
Technical consultation with the Land Transport Authority
See comment on Procedure 2. Although no physical inspection is required the Qualified Professional will have to pay SGD 10/100 sqm for clearance of parking proposal. The payment can be made electronically.
Agency: Land Transport Authority
|
1 day
|
SGD 130
|
| * 6 |
Obtain building plan approval
Qualified Professionals can submit the architectural aspects of application along with structural plans through CORENET in a concurrent manner. The guidelines on this concurrent submission for structural plan approval and building plan application can be found in BCA website (http://www.bca.gov.sg/StructuralPlan/asp_16.html). In 2007, more than 56% of the 3,937 structural plans were submitted in parallel with the building permits.
BCA has a target for building plan approval to be issued in 7 working days. This is in line with the recent effort to provide a faster and more efficient service. The applications are reviewed on random basis and can be cleared through interactions with Qualified Professionals. The system of random inspections is used to high quality of applications and drawings submitted by Qualified Professionals.
Agency: Building & Construction Authority (BCA)
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
| * 7 |
Make an online declaration of risk management implementation and notify the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health
Before November 2008 the Workplace Safety & Health (Registration of Factories) Regulations required all factories to be registered before they can commence operations. Registration was valid for up to two years. A SGD 540 annual fee was payable upon registration and renewal. The system did not differentiate lower risk factories from the rest.
From 1 November 2008, qualifying factories will only be required to do two things prior to the commencement of operations:
Make an online declaration that they have implemented risk management in their factories, and notify the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health of their operations via the On-line Business Licensing System (OBLS) at https://licences.business.gov.sg.
The new scheme will apply to all factories except construction worksites, shipyards, metalworking companies, wafer fabrication, petrochemical, chemical and pharmaceutical plants. Qualifying factories are factories with lower risks of fatalities and accidents (as the one assumed by Doing Business). They will no longer be required to pay an annual registration fee nor are they required to renew their registration. To strengthen risk management (RM) requirements, these factories will now be required to make a declaration that they have implemented RM at their workplaces before work can commence.
Agency: Occupational Safety and Health Division, Ministry of Manpower
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 8 |
Obtain water and sewage connection
All three connections can be applied for through a one-stop service provided by Singapore Power (SP) Services, a privatized utilities operator. The existing infrastructure allows a new connection within one week. The connection is made at the same time when the inspection is made. Application for electrical power is to the Singapore Power; application for both portable and Newater water is to the Singapore Public Utilities Board; application for sewer connection is to the Sewerage Department of the Ministry of Environment & Water Resources.
The cost of water connection depends on the consumption, amounts to SGD 3.5 per cubic meter, and should be at least SGD 300.
Agency: Singapore Power Services
|
7 days
|
SGD 1,400
|
| * 9 |
Obtain phone connection
Telephone connection can be acquired in one day.
Agency: Singtel
|
1 day
|
SGD 60
|
| 10 |
Receive final inspection
Once the warehouse construction is completed the Qualified Professional files a request for inspection to BCA through CORENET. BuildCo may request the inspection in advance, that is, before construction activities are completed. A registered inspector, hired by both the Building Control Authority (BCA) and BuildCo, inspects the completed warehouse. Independently but concurrently, Qualified Professional can submit a request to the FSSD for fire system approval. There is no physical interaction with the FSSD and the inspection is performed by the Qualified Professional. The Qualified Professional sends the report to FSSD. The approval from FSSD is then sent to BCA electronically through an internal network.
Agency: Registered inspector, affiliated with BCA and BuildCo/FSSD
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 11 |
Obtain certificate of statutory completion
BuildCo does not need to register the newly built warehouse after its completion.
Agency: Building & Construction Authority (BCA)
|
10 days
|
no charge
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.