http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/prem...anite-20140205

Published February 05, 2014

Government steps in to ease shortage of granite

By cai haoxiang [email protected]


[SINGAPORE] The government will release granite from the national stockpile from today to ease an Indonesian granite supply shortage that has affected private and public construction projects.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said yesterday evening that while the construction industry here has diversified its sources since 2007, the activation of the national stockpile will "further ease the situation and enable construction works to carry on".

The release will be for main contractors with ongoing projects that require granite for building works.

"The release of the national stockpile will tide the industry over while it ramps up supply from other regional sources. BCA urges the industry to continue to diligently look for alternative sources and diversify," the government agency said.

Granite aggregate, which is hard stones crushed into small pieces, is mixed with cement and water to make concrete, a widely used material in building structures.

Indonesia is a major supplier of granite aggregate to Singapore. But since Jan 10, granite aggregate has not been allowed to be shipped from Indonesian jetties.

The stoppage happened at around the same time that Indonesia banned a wide range of minerals from being exported globally. It is understood that there is no specific ban on shipping granite to Singapore.

Regulations issued by the Indonesian government had said that exports of raw or unprocessed granite out of Indonesia were not allowed, and only granite that had been shaped, cut or processed can be exported. As a result, various construction projects in Singapore faced delays.

In 2012, a week-long granite shortage occurred when supplies from Indonesia were temporarily disrupted. And in 2007, an overnight ban on exports of sand - a vital concrete ingredient - sparked a "sand crisis" that saw construction activity islandwide grind to a halt.

Yesterday, BCA added that it has already briefed various industry groups like developers, architects, engineers, contractors, quantity surveyors and project managers, on the stockpile release.