Firm Foundations in a New Normal
The construction sector in Singapore was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with manpower and supply chain disruptions leading to delays in delivering flats to flat buyers.
With work gradually picking up pace, we have been working closely with our consultants and contractors to deliver homes to buyers as soon as possible, while ensuring that project quality and safety are not compromised.
In August 2021, Greatearth Corporation and Greatearth Construction, the main contractors for 5 BTO projects, informed HDB that they had run into financial difficulties. Despite financial assistance from HDB, they were unable to complete the 5 projects under its management. As Project Director of Senja Heights, one of the housing projects affected, Valerie had only one thing in her mind: to deliver on HDB’s promise to home buyers.
“It was a very intense period, from the moment Greatearth informed HDB that it was unable to continue with the project, to when the new contractor came onboard. The process of hiring a new contractor would
normally take 3 to 4 months, but we did not wish to disrupt our home buyers’ life plans any further. So it was all hands on deck – colleagues from HDB and other agencies worked hard together to make it happen in
a month instead.
From the moment the project was handed over to the new contractors, we worked closely with them to bring the project to the finish line. In fact, Senja Heights was completed ahead of the
replacement contractors’ new timeline. I believe it was this single-minded focus that we had, to fulfil our commitment to our buyers, which helped us turn the project around. “
Valerie Sim
Project Director of Senja Heights
