Starting 1 October, a pilot programme launched by Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) will enable building owners and energy service companies to secure loans from select banks to retrofit their buildings to higher environmental standards.
According to Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister of State for National Development and Manpower, the BCA and banks would share the risk involved.
“To put our money where our mouth is, the BCA will share the risk of any loan defaults with the financial institutions,”
“So far, Standard Chartered Bank and United Overseas Bank have confirmed their participation in the scheme,” he said yesterday during the International Green Building Conference 2011.
Also known as the Building Retrofit Energy Efficiency Financing (BREEF), the pilot loan programme aims to make 80 percent of the buildings in Singapore green-complaint by 2030.
“The financially stronger building owners usually initiate the retrofitting of their cooling plants when the age of the chillers reaches 12 to 15 years.”
“The rest of the building owners, including the management corporation, however, may take an even longer time, citing cost of retrofitting, lack of financing or awareness,” he said.
The Green Mark is BCA’s rating system that assesses buildings based on environmental impact and performance.
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