[Editor's note, June 2, 2:15 pm: The article has been edited to reflect the distinction in terms of the government's various plans for foreign workers' accommodation. The government will provide 60,000 additional spaces by the end of the year. In the longer term, the government will build new permanent purpose-built dormitories, which will result in 100,000 additional spaces in the coming years.]

The government will be putting in place a major programme to build new foreign worker dormitories with higher standards over the coming years.

11 purpose-built dormitories (PBDs) will be ready in the next one to two years, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Jun 1).

The authorities will create additional space to house about 60,000 workers by end of this year, the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a joint media release on Monday (Jun 1).

Wong said that in land-scarce Singapore, it is inevitable that some of these new dormitory sites will be quite near residential areas.

Hence, he urged Singaporeans to do their part as well, and not to have a “not in my backyard” mentality towards these developments.

"We really need to appreciate the contributions of all that our migrant workers have been doing, and will continue to do in building Singapore, and welcome them as part of our community," he said.

"This is an important part of how we can also learn from this whole experience, and become a more inclusive society," he added.

Short to medium term arrangements for workers

The additional space to house about 60,000 workers will be achieved through the following:

New Quick Build Dormitories (QBDs)

QBDs are temporary structures that can be assembled quickly, with each QBD housing 500 to 1,000 workers per hectare, depending on the site conditions.

These QBDs will last for around two to three years.

In total, QBDs will have a capacity of around 25,000 workers.

Here's a list of the different locations where the QBDs will be located:

• Kranji Way
• 1 Tuas Ave 2
• Tuas South Ave 10
• Jalan Tukang
• Admiralty Street
• Choa Chu Kang Grove
• Choa Chu Kang Way
• Tampines Industrial Ave 2

Temporary fitting out of currently unused state properties

Unused state properties will be identified and used to provide housing for migrant workers.

These include former schools and vacant factories.

In total, they will have around 25,000 capacity.

Here's a list of where these sites are:

Vacant factories

• 26A Sungei Kadut St 4
• 11C, 11D, 15A, 15BTuas Road
• 25 Kranji Loop
• 120, 128, 130, 134, 136, 138 Genting Lane
• 6 Neythal Road
• 105, 164 Gul Circle
• 128 Tuas South Ave 3
• 28 Ayer Rajah Crescent
• 36 Sungei Kadut St 1

Former schools

• 20 Jalan Damai
• 3 Yishun Ring Road
• 8 Chai Chee Lane
• 501 Bedok South Ave 3
• 3 Geylang Bahru
• 121 Queensway
• 201 Ulu Pandan Road
• 300 Jalan Jurong Kechil
• 25 Jalan Tembusu
• 2 Tampines Ave 9
• 12 Pasir Ris St 1
• 931 Jurong West St 42
• 1033 Upper Serangoon Road
• 29 Woodlands Centre Road
• 1 and 3 Mei Chin Road
• 15 Tampines St 11
• 60 Dunearn Road

Vacant state properties

• 63-66 Yung Kuang Road
• 1-22 Redhill Close
• 429A Bedok North Road
• 36 Dunearn Road
• 8 Lower Delta Road
• 226 Outram Road
• 2 Perahu Road
• 191 AMK Ave 8
• 90, 92, 94 Kismis Avenue

Other sites

• Tentages at NSRCC Kranji

However, this is not a comprehensive list, and new sites may be updated over time.

Additional Construction Temporary Quarters (CTQs)

CTQs will be built by contractors to house their workers at the worksite and cut down on transportation needs.

Discussions are being held with the contractors on the additional CTQs that they will need for their workers.

Longer-term arrangements

New PBDs will be able to house up to 100,000 workers to replace the short-to-medium-term housing.

This will take several years to complete, but the aim is to have 11 PBDs up and ready in the next one to two years.

PBDs will have amenities such as minimarts, barber services, indoor recreation facilities, and will have blocks spaced out to ensure good ventilation.

The workers living in these PBDs will also have ready access to medical care and support.

The PBDs will thus provide the capacity to decant workers from existing dormitories and allow major upgrading to ensure they meet the new standards.

Top Image from Google Maps.