Speaking at the Parliamentary Appropriations Committee debate on the department's spending budget, National Development Minister Lee Chee Sing said the Housing Development Board was actively engaged in large-scale construction, with close to 100 pre-purchased HDB projects currently under construction across the island. By 2025, this number will increase to over 150.

Responding to a question from some MPs as to why the authorities could not speed up the pace of construction and increase supply, the Minister explained that while there are residential sites in the country, many of them are not greenfield sites that are undeveloped and ready for construction.

Mr Lee said that land preparation is a long and complex process. For greenfield sites, for example, the authorities need to ensure that infrastructure such as roads and sewers are ready, and then conduct an in-depth soil survey.

As for brownfield sites, the authorities may need to relocate existing users, clean up existing structures and, if necessary, transfer facilities such as cables and sewers underground.

The minister said that it often takes five to 10 years, or even longer, to plan and prepare for HDB flats before construction can begin. Citing the former Police College site at Happy Hill as an example, he said it took seven years to study how to redevelop the site, conduct a consultation exercise and decide to launch the first pre-purchase HDB projects in 2025.

The minister said that once the current supply crunch is resolved, the authorities will be able to reintroduce HDB flats with a shorter waiting time from next year. The authorities plan to launch 2,000 to 3,000 such flats a year in 2025, equivalent to the pre-epidemic level.