Green building construction projects in singapore: cost premiums and cost performance

Abstract

While there has been a wealth of research on the life cycle cost of green buildings, few of them addressed the cost management performance of green building construction projects. As a result, this study aims to investigate the cost premiums and the cost performance of such projects in Singapore, which is an active global leader for green buildings, and to come up with feasible solutions that can help reduce the cost premiums and improve the cost performance. To achieve these goals, an extensive literature review and a questionnaire survey were conducted. Data collected from 121 green building construction projects showed that the green cost premiums in Singapore ranged from 5% to 10%, with different project type and size being significant factors affecting the premiums. It also reported that the majority of green building construction projects exhibited poor cost performances, with cost overruns ranging from 4.5% to 7%. Lastly, six strategic solutions that can reduce the cost premiums and improve the cost performance were proposed. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by adding the literature and findings in the context of the cost premiums and cost performance of green building construction projects. Furthermore, it can provide the industry professionals with an in-depth understanding of green cost premiums and performance as well as the responding control solutions, helping them make better decisions on cost-related management approaches from the beginning of such projects.