Singapore: Building More with Fewer Workers
Posted on June 3rd, 2026
Dr Sarath Obeysekera
Lessons to learn
Singapore faced severe labour shortages and rising labour costs. Instead of importing unlimited workers, the government pushed the industry towards prefabrication, modular construction, and steel-based systems through its Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) strategy. The Building and Construction Authority reports that prefabricated construction methods can improve productivity by up to 40%, reduce project duration by up to 30%, and significantly reduce onsite manpower requirements.
Singapore now mandates advanced prefabricated systems for many government land sale projects specifically to reduce dependence on foreign labour.
South Korea: Construction as Manufacturing
South Korea’s major contractors such as GS Engineering & Construction increasingly use modular and steel-based construction. According to the World Economic Forum, modular construction can shorten project timelines by up to 50% and potentially reduce total project costs by around 20% through productivity improvements and reduced labour requirements.
The key lesson is that construction is increasingly treated like automobile manufacturing: components are produced in factories and assembled on-site.
China: Industrialized Construction
China has become the world’s largest producer of structural steel and prefabricated building systems. Entire apartment blocks, factories, warehouses, and bridges are increasingly fabricated off-site and assembled rapidly on location. The advantages include:
- Reduced labour demand
- Faster project completion
- Better quality control
- Reduced material wastage
- Improved safety
- Greater environmental compliance
Steel structures can often be erected 30–50% faster than conventional reinforced concrete construction.
Why Sri Lanka Should Follow This Path
Sri Lanka’s traditional construction model depends heavily on:
- Bricklayers
- Carpenters
- Bar benders
- Concrete workers
- General labourers
These workers are increasingly unavailable because many have migrated overseas.
Instead of endlessly searching for more labour, Sri Lanka should reduce labour dependence.
A national strategy should include:
- Expansion of steel fabrication yards.
- Promotion of pre-engineered steel buildings.
- Use of prefabricated wall panels.
- Modular housing construction.
- Development of a ship recycling and steel recovery industry.
- Vocational training focused on welding, fabrication, CNC machining, and steel erection.
- Tax incentives for steel-based industrial and commercial buildings.
Environmental Benefits
Traditional construction consumes vast quantities of sand, metal aggregates, and cement. Sand mining has already damaged many Sri Lankan rivers and coastal ecosystems.
Steel is one of the most recyclable materials in the world and can be reused repeatedly with minimal loss of quality. Factory production also generates less waste and reduces environmental damage caused by uncontrolled extraction of natural resources.
Sri Lanka should stop viewing steel merely as a construction material and start viewing it as a strategic national industry. Just as Singapore transformed construction through industrialized building systems and South Korea integrated manufacturing with construction, Sri Lanka must shift from labour-intensive brick-and-cement methods to steel-based, prefabricated, and modular construction. The future belongs not to nations with the cheapest labour, but to nations with the highest productivity.”
This would make a powerful policy recommendation for the Chamber of Construction Industry discussion.
Regards
Dr Sarath Obeysekera