URA to review guidelines on floor space to give developers more design flexibility: Chee Hong Tat
The GFA relook comes in response to industry feedback
Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat announced that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will review guidelines on building floor space, aiming to give developers greater flexibility in design. The review of gross floor area (GFA) guidelines will also consider encouraging features that support heat resilience and thermal comfort.
Higher allowable GFA could significantly improve development potential and project economics. Industry feedback prompted the review, according to Chee. Pro-business policies do not equate to fewer rules, but rather a risk-proportionate approach that balances trade-offs and objectives. The volume of covered floor area is generally capped by plot ratios assigned to the land, but bonus GFA can be granted via incentive schemes.
The CBD Incentive Scheme and Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme are examples of existing schemes. The use of GFA as a planning incentive was discussed at a recent industry conference. Chee also announced a new framework to reduce testing requirements for reinforcement steel bars in construction projects, which could cut testing costs by up to 90%.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
