Singapore, 29 May 2019 – At the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Awards 2019, City Developments Limited (CDL) has emerged as the only developer to be conferred the Quality Excellence Award – Quality Champion (Platinum) for seven consecutive years. This award recognises leading progressive developers and builders for their commitment and achievement in delivering high quality homes through workmanship excellence and quality assurance programmes.
“At CDL, we have put in a lot of effort into building up and maintaining a strong and sustainable reputation over the years. We continuously refine the way we build so as to enhance the quality and performance of our buildings as we endeavour to set new benchmarks. We are very honoured that BCA has consistently recognised our efforts and once again bestowed upon us the prestigious Quality Champion (Platinum) award. This is a testament to our strong commitment to quality which enhances our brand and product differentiation.”
– Mr Sherman Kwek, CDL’s Group Chief Executive Officer
Mr Hugh Lim, BCA’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “BCA is proud to confer the Quality Champion (Platinum) award to CDL for the seventh consecutive year since the inception of Quality Excellence Award in 2013. CDL has been a supportive industry partner and pioneered the adoption of BCA’s Quality Mark Scheme which aims to help developers consistently deliver high quality homes. We hope that more developers will be inspired by their success story and embark on a similar journey to ensure high quality projects.”
In 2018, all five of CDL’s completed developments achieved an average score of 97.2 under BCA’s Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS). Introduced in 1989, CONQUAS serves as the industry benchmark for quality and workmanship standards of construction projects in Singapore. Although it was not mandatory for private sector projects to subscribe to CONQUAS, CDL has consistently pushed for all its projects to be assessed since the system was introduced.
Setting benchmarks in environmentally-friendly buildings
Over the years, CDL has implemented various initiatives to develop environmentally-friendly buildings. Sustainability considerations are factored into the entire life-cycle of its developments, from concept design to construction and building management. Besides setting a minimum target for all its new developments to be Green Mark GoldPLUS certified, which is two tiers above the mandatory Green Mark certification level, CDL invests a certain percentage of a project’s construction cost in green design and features. In addition, CDL aims to achieve at least GoldPLUS for the Universal Design certification of all its new developments to create an inclusive and barrier-free built environment.
CDL’s upcoming Piermont Grand Executive Condominium (EC) at Sumang Walk, for example, has clinched the highest-tier Green Mark Platinum, and the Universal Design Mark GoldPLUS. The 820-unit luxurious waterfront EC will also feature a Smart Energy and Water Monitoring System, with water leak detection algorithm, to track and manage power and water usage in the common areas. Piermont Grand’s energy- and water-efficient features enable the development to achieve total energy savings of approximately 1,144,202 kWh per year and water savings of approximately 73,881 m3 annually. This translates into an estimated reduction of over 572 tonnes of carbon dioxide emission each year.
In addition to Piermont Grand, CDL’s City House office development in Singapore’s Central Business District has been recertified Green Mark Platinum. CDL’s residential developments Amber Park, Boulevard 88, Whistler Grand and joint-venture development in Sengkang Central have been awarded Green Mark GoldPLUS.
Active tenant engagement for collective low-carbon practices
As user behaviour is equally important for achieving a building’s overall energy efficiency, CDL has actively engaged its commercial tenants to adopt low-carbon practices. In 2014, the CDL Green Lease Partnership Programme was introduced to support and encourage its commercial tenants to reduce their energy consumption and environmental footprint. Under the Programme, CDL’s Green Lease Ambassadors guide tenants to green their offices and act as their consultants for the BCA Green Mark Office Interior certifications. To further encourage its tenants to save energy, CDL gives them an electricity rebate when they attain savings over the previous quarter's bill.
In recognition of its tenant engagement efforts, CDL’s Republic Plaza Tower 1 was conferred the Green Mark Pearl Award. Republic Plaza is a Grade A office development located at Raffles Place in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District. One of its tenants, Distrii Singapore Pte Ltd, adopted the use of 100% LED lighting and achieved more than 50% improvement in lighting power density. Another tenant, Bank of Singapore Limited, implemented proper zoning and scheduling control with toggle switches for air conditioning and lighting, to minimise energy consumption after office hours. Distrii, Bank of Singapore Limited, Latham & Watkins LLP, Clearstream Banking S.A, China Construction Bank Corporation, Singapore Branch and 17 other office tenants have achieved Green Mark certification.
