SINGAPORE, July 12 — Singapore’s construction sector is turning to robots as companies look for ways to tackle a stubborn labour shortage and make one of the country’s toughest industries more attractive to younger workers, The Straits Times reported today.
From painting walls to drilling tunnels, more machines are appearing on worksites, with more than 25 types of construction robots now used across about 60 projects, although they still make up only a small share of major developments, the Singapore newspaper said.
“Frankly speaking, whose son wants to go into a construction site?” Edmund Ng, founder of Seng Soon Huat Construction, was quoted as saying.
The company began using painting robots in 2025.
Ng said robots could help change perceptions of the industry by allowing workers to operate technology rather than endure physically demanding work under harsh conditions.
According to The Straits Times, Singapore’s construction sector remains heavily dependent on foreign labour, with non-residents making up nearly four in five of the 566,800 workers in the industry as of December 2025.
For contractors, automation offers a way to boost productivity, with Ng saying one worker overseeing three painting robots could take on work previously done by six people.
“If one day I am able to hire one local to manage five robots, instead of one foreigner to three robots, that is when there will be real change in the industry,” he was quoted as saying.
Public agencies are also pushing for greater use of robotics, with the Housing Board and JTC Corporation introducing requirements and trials aimed at reducing manpower needs and improving productivity.
But the shift is not without challenges, as contractors face high costs, limited after-sales support and technology that is still evolving.
“Even though we may be curious – to buy a S$100,000 (RM314,954) robot and try, there is a lot of hesitation, because some robots are not proven,” said Andy Lu, assistant secretary-general of the Singapore Contractors Association Limited.
Painting robots can cost between S$80,000 (RM251,963) and S$180,000 (RM566,916) depending on their features, while companies also have to deal with the risk that newer models may quickly replace expensive equipment.
Even firms that have adopted robots say machines are unlikely to fully replace humans anytime soon, as workers are still needed for decision-making, maintenance and tasks requiring flexibility, The Singapore daily said.
Singapore’s construction industry is instead moving towards a future where humans and robots work side by side, with machines handling repetitive or dangerous jobs while workers oversee operations.
Kajima Corporation demonstrated what that future could look like in Japan, where 14 automated construction vehicles at a dam project were controlled remotely by just three operators located 400km away.
“It is better to be in front, because we know the construction sector tends to be very traditional,” Lu told the Singapore paper, adding that companies that fail to adapt risk being left behind.
As Singapore continues searching for ways to make construction more productive and less reliant on manpower, builders believe robots could help attract a new generation of workers who are more comfortable with technology than traditional labour.
For Ng, the experiment is simple: “If automation is a possibility, we try. Can, can lor. Cannot? We go back to square one.”