Speech by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Public Service Science, Technology and Engineering Festival (STE:FEST)

Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning everyone and a warm welcome to STE: Fest.

I am glad to see such a diverse gathering of officers from across the infrastructure and environment, security, and economy-building sectors. Each person brings a different perspective and a distinct area of expertise, and it is this diversity that gives our community its strength and value.

STE: Fest is more than an event - it is a celebration of innovation within the Public Service.

It allows us to forge new connections across agencies, to share ideas, and to reinforce our shared sense of purpose.

It is also an occasion for us to recognise the breadth and depth of STE work and acknowledge the outstanding efforts by our colleagues that drive our national outcomes - work that often unfolds quietly behind the scenes, and yet has profound and lasting impacts on the lives of Singaporeans.

Importance of Science, Technology and Engineering in Public Service

Singapore's transformation over the past six decades has been an extraordinary journey.

On a small island without natural resources or a hinterland, we have built one of the world's most liveable cities.

Every decision we have made - whether on land use, infrastructure, housing, or the environment, has required us to make difficult trade-offs.

And yet time and again, we have found creative solutions to turn our challenges into opportunities.

This transformation did not happen by chance. Generations of public officers dared to dream, pushed boundaries, questioned assumptions, and harnessed science, technology and engineering as tools to help us advance our national goals.

The challenges ahead of us are no less daunting - our population is ageing, our land constraints are intensifying, climate change is accelerating, and the pace of technological disruption is faster than ever.

In a time like this, we need to innovate, we need to collaborate within the public service and also with our industry partners, and we must continue to harness the power of science, technology and engineering to push boundaries and find practical solutions to overcome our challenges and constraints.

So while the song which said "we built this city on rock and roll" may sound more fancy and less nerdy than saying "we built this city on science, technology and engineering", we know that the latter is actually more accurate and more important in real life.

STE has been a key enabler for Singapore to grow from third world to first in one generation. And it will remain key in the decades ahead, because we have challenges to overcome and we are not done growing and building Singapore.

This morning please allowme to share three areas where STE forms a key element of MND's work.

Priority 1: Building Taller, Deeper and Smarter

First, building taller, deeper and smarter. Housing demand in Singapore remains robust and is expected to grow.

This is because as our society evolves, demographic changes, such as smaller household sizes and an ageing population, will continue to drive demand for new homes.

To meet this demand, we need to intensify land use, building taller wherever feasible, to extract the highest possible yield from each plot of land.

At MND's Committee of Supply debate earlier this year, we announced the Pearl's Hill housing development, which will be Singapore's tallest public housing project.

Building at this scale presents major engineering challenges for HDB. It will require innovation in structural engineering, construction, and building systems, all while ensuring that homes continue to remain safe, liveable and cost-effective.

This is the kind of challenge that I am sure our STE community will welcome, because it is an opportunity to apply their expertise and find workable solutions that can achieve good outcomes for Singapore and Singaporeans.

In fact, if we do not have challenging work for our STE officers, some of you may not want to stay - because what attracts you to doing this work is the continued challenge, enabling you to push the boundaries, enabling you to overcome challenges, enabling you to apply your expertise and knowledge to solving problems. So I think that is very important. We must continue to have this pipeline of interesting projects and challenges for our officers to work on, and we have.

Building taller is only part of the answer. We must also go underground, where possible, to achieve more sustainable and efficient use of our limited land.

The Jurong Rock Caverns shows the benefits of putting underground spaces to productive use - in this case for the storage of liquid hydrocarbons which support our energy security and industrial growth, while freeing up valuable land above ground for other uses.

Another example is the new underground substation developed by SP Group at Labrador, which is Southeast Asia's first large-scale underground electrical substation. By placing the 230kV substation underground, we are able to build a 34-storey commercial tower above it. This is something we need to do more in Singapore - optimise land use in our dense urban environment, while strengthening the resilience of our infrastructure network.

Similarly, the North-South Corridor project by LTA reflects a more integrated approach to transport and urban planning. By moving sections of traffic underground, we can repurpose the surface roads for greenery, community spaces, and cycling. Once this is done, you will have dedicated cycling lanes from Ang Mo Kio-Bishan-Toa Payoh all the way to the Marina Bay.

We are now studying the feasibility of an underground cavern at Gali Batu for construction materials storage. Similar to what we did with the Jurong Rock Caverns, such solutions can free up surface land for higher-value usage and improve operational efficiency.

Beyond building taller and deeper, we must also build smarter. We have an ambitious pipeline of large-scale infrastructure projects - Changi Airport Terminal 5, Tuas Port, new MRT lines, and a continued robust supply of new BTO flats.

To deliver all of this efficiently, we have developed innovative approaches to maximise the use of construction materials, including precast construction technology that reduces waste and speeds up construction process.

One of our STE Excellence Award finalist projects, Singapore's First Polder at Pulau Tekong, is a good example of such innovation in action.

The STE Excellence Award honours outstanding projects and teams that have made a real and lasting impact in our built environment.

The Pulau Tekong polder project reclaimed 800 hectares of land while reducing sand usage by 50% compared to traditional reclamation methods.

The project adopted an innovative empoldering approach by constructing coastal dikes, drainage canals and pumping systems to create low-lying reclaimed land below sea level. This has significantly reduced the amount of sand and infill material required.

It is a powerful demonstration of how engineering innovation can help us to do more with less.

Priority 2: Improving How We Plan, Coordinate and Deliver

A second area that we are applying STE in is in how we are improving the ways we plan, coordinate and deliver public services. As our infrastructure grows more complex and interconnected, we need smarter systems and processes to keep pace.

Underground infrastructure coordination is one area where we have made some progress and we must continue to press on.

As Singapore becomes more densely built-up, there is increasing competition for limited underground space from utilities such as power and telecommunications networks.

To address this, we have been strengthening the use of integrated digital planning and geospatial technologies to improve the coordination, management and sharing of underground utility information across agencies and project stakeholders.

AI-enabled platforms, such as those being developed by AECOM's AI Innovation Centre, are improving underground utilities mapping and data quality, and reducing the risk of costly conflicts during construction.

URA has developed the Infrastructure Network Planning and Alignment Clearance (INPAC) platform. This is a digital platform designed to make network infrastructure planning and alignment clearance faster, simpler and more efficient.

This tool has enabled agencies, utility licensees and consultants to coordinate seamlessly by consolidating the entire process of utilities planning and coordination onto a single digital platform.

INPAC has also enabled agencies to identify and resolve conflicts between utility alignments early, facilitating more coordinated and efficient delivery of major network infrastructure projects.

To date, about 100 projects have used INPAC for their utilities planning and coordination work.

Another innovative engineering solution is the utility specific ducts (USDs), which is a system of pre-installed ducts housing power or telecommunications cables. HDB had successfully piloted USDs in Tengah New Town, as part of the process for coordinating utility alignments.

These ducts not only offer better protection for the cables, they also facilitate access via manholes. This helps minimise repeated road openings to add new cables or maintain existing ones, saving time and cost for the utility owners, while reducing the risk of utility strikes.

Even though we have made some progress, there is still more that we need to do to strengthen underground infrastructure coordination. I think our processes for above ground is a lot better than our processes for underground, and this is an area that we need to be better. For example, we will need to improve the accuracy of underground utility maps and make it easier to share utility survey reports across different project parties. With better data, contractors would need fewer trial trenches to confirm the locations of existing utility lines, which will reduce costs and improve project efficiency. This requires everybody to contribute and cooperate; you cannot be selfish and keep your own data and not share. It will then be difficult for us to piece everything together.

There are also other measures that we are working on to improve underground infrastructure coordination. We will share more with everyone on another occasion. This is an area of work that is of priority to the whole of Government and we want to do better.

I believe these upstream investments will pay off later. If we can resolve conflicts before they arise, both the public service as well as businesses and our residents , we can all have a better outcome, we can save time and save money and avoid abortive works. We will also face fewer disruptions and disamenities.

Across the public service, agencies are also leveraging digital tools and technology to automate labour-intensive tasks and improve productivity.

In the built environment, we use this tool called CORENET X. It is another STE Excellence award finalist. This is a whole-of-government platform that streamlines regulatory approvals for building works across seven agencies.

By consolidating over 20 approval touchpoints into three key gateways, firms can achieve time savings of up to 20% - more than 100 projects and 180 firms have already come onboard. And we hope more will do so.

In addition, since 2023, HDB has deployed robotic technologies for labour-intensive and repetitive tasks such as sanding and painting interior walls and ceilings in BTO projects, achieving productivity gains of up to 30%.

And it is not just construction - This use of digital tools and robotics also extends to other domains. For example, SPF using patrol robots at Changi Airport and MPA' using remotely piloted drones to monitor port waters. These will help to improve operational capacity across our agencies, allowing our officers to focus on higher-value work which require human judgment or human intervention, as these are the areas where robots and machines cannot operate on their own.

The establishment of the National Space Agency of Singapore (NSAS) under MTI last month is another example. NSAS will develop national space capabilities, including Earth observation satellites and space situational awareness, to support climate monitoring, traffic management and urban planning at a city-wide scale.

For a small, data-driven city like Singapore, space technologies are an increasingly important tool. It is something we can develop, and something that I think we have the expertise, and you can open up new opportunities too - for our engineering professionals, our scientists, and also for our businesses.

This morning I am very happy to announce the launch of a refreshed STE Innovation Challenge (IC).

The STE Innovation Challenge surfaces and develops promising ideas from across the Public Service.

As part of the refresh, we are enhancing support across the full innovation journey - from design innovation workshops and mentoring, to leveraging external expertise, so that promising ideas do not stop at the prototype stage, but can translate into real-world implementation.

The 2026 edition of the Challenge will be on the theme of 'building a resilient and sustainable Singapore', focusing on food, water and heat resilience, as well as waste management. S&TPPO will share more details.

Priority 3: Building a More Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Singapore

Let me turn to our third area - sustainability and climate resilience.

In Singapore, we take this very seriously because we know climate change is real. Singapore has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Meeting this commitment requires a whole-of-lifecycle approach - from how we design and construct buildings, to how we operate and eventually retrofit them.

The Singapore Green Building Masterplan's "80-80-80 in 2030" targets and the Built Environment Decarbonisation Technology Roadmap provide the strategic framework guiding our sector's decarbonisation efforts.

These are ambitious goals and achieving them will require sustained innovation across the entire built environment value chain.

An example is one of our STE IC finalist projects - the Solar PV Deployment with Flexible Overhang Structural System by JTC.

By developing a structural system that allows solar panels to be deployed more flexibly on building facades and overhangs, this project expands the surface area available for solar generation in our dense urban environment. We don't have enough rooftop space, so we are trying to find other ways of increasing the surface area for solar.

Climate change also poses real and growing risks to our liveability, health and prosperity. As a low-lying island city-state, Singapore is more exposed than many other countries.

MSE has recently set up the Heat Resilience Policy Office as a whole-of-government effort to coordinate urban heat island mitigation and develop adaptive infrastructure and technology solutions.

We are also undertaking significant moves to strengthen coastal protection, such as the Long Island project. This entails reclaiming about 800 hectares of land off the East Coast, which will provide new land for housing and recreation, reservoirs and sea walls for protection against rising sea levels.

To solve Singapore's challenges in the longer-term, we require continued engineering ingenuity which can help unlock new possibilities. That's why I mentioned earlier that we will continue to have a pipeline of challenging, interesting projects for our STE colleagues.

Call to Action

Technology alone will not get us there. Technology is necessary but technology alone will not be enough. The tools we build are only as powerful as the mindset of their users and the culture of the environment they operate in. So this morning I would also like to share three key qualities that I think are important and I encourage all of you to consider adopting in your work.

The first quality is the willingness to take calculated risks and try new ideas, and not be afraid of making some mistakes along the way. Accept that when you try, some of the new ideas may not succeed, some will fail, and that is part of the innovation process.

I know this is easier said than done. As a system, we do need to be cautious - and that is understandable, because we have a responsibility and accountability as public officers.

But playing it too safe would not help us to innovate. We need the resilience when we try new things and not be afraid to fail or for something to go wrong. And when we make mistakes, don't give up, learn from the experience and press on and try again.

It is good to be careful and prudent, we do not want to become a public service which is reckless and cowboy, that is not what we want, but we should not let our carefulness and our prudence become shackles that prevent us from taking calculated risks and testing out new ideas.

There are ways to test new ideas via pilots and sandboxes, which can enable us to fail safely and limit the downsides to the system as a whole. And if the new idea is proven to be effective, we can then scale it up to other parts of the system. In other words, we aim to "safe fail", rather than "fail safe".

This spirit of pushing the boundaries and not being contented with status quo, always looking for ways to improve, always looking for ways to do things better, is very important. Because even when the way forward is uncertain, it is an important mindset that we all need to have.

I will give you an analogy from soccer. If you are too risk averse and you only focus on playing defence, the best outcome you can achieve is a draw. To win, we must attack. And it is ok if we let in some goals, as long as we score more goals than our opponents.

The second quality is to adopt a solutions-oriented mindset.

Now when we are faced with a difficult problem, the first thing is not to be daunted, to not let the problem overwhelm us. We must not get deterred because answers are not readily available at the beginning. Or worse, we self-impose constraints in our minds by assuming that someone else will now allow us to proceed, for example my boss will say no, the IM (Instruction Manual) or some rule says cannot, it will be difficult to get the budget or headcount, the auditor will make an audit query. The list can go on but these are all self-imposed constraints. If we allow this to happen, we actually tie our own hands.

We should stop assuming that we are just cogs in a machine without agency and self-determination. That is not true. If the rules currently do not allow something to be done, and we assess that this initiative will benefit the country and our people, we can amend the rules. If the SOP is no longer relevant and fit for purpose, we can change the SOP.

Or, in some cases, we can seek deviation with proper authorisation. And if resources are required, we can put up our proposal and ask for the additional budget or manpower to allow us to do the right thing that can benefit Singapore and Singaporeans.
Don't hold back, put it up. At most you are rejected - you are not worse off than if you don't try. Rather than keep asking "can this be done?" or worse keep focusing on "why this is not possible?", we should turn it around and ask "what do we need to get this done?", "What resources do I need to get this done? What support do I need to get this done? What changes to the system, to the rules, to the processes do I need to get this done?". And I encourage all of you to push the boundaries, tell your bosses, tell your Ministers what you need, and we will do our best to support you.

Focus on the possible solutions and how to get there. Don't keep focusing on reasons why something cannot be done, and then trap ourselves in a self-imposed bubble or we tie our hands with an imaginary rope.

This is why I am a firm advocate for doing pro-enterprise rules review, and it is a priority for me whichever Ministry I go to. If our current rules or processes are no longer relevant and have become obstacles to innovation and progress, we should look at reviewing or simplifying them, instead of allowing them to become a stumbling block and become an excuse for not making things happen. We should not allow that.

To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, who said we shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us, I think the same is true for rules. We shape our rules and thereafter they shape us.

This shift in orientation - from looking beyond barriers and constraints to finding pathways and solutions - is what distinguishes an enterprising and innovative culture from a bureaucratic and stagnant one.

As one entrepreneur told me recently, have a positive mindset to turn 'impossible' into 'I am possible.' That should be our approach in the Public Service too - incorporating an enterprising and can-do spirit as part of our organisational DNA.

The third quality is the openness to work with internal and external partners, including those who may have different views from us. This is because innovation is more likely to happen when different ideas come together.

It is also important for public sector agencies to understand the perspectives of other stakeholders, especially those from the private and people sectors, so that our measures can be more effective in addressing gaps and concerns on the ground.

When there is trust between the stakeholders, constructive disagreement between colleagues and between partner agencies will be viewed as a strength of resilience, and not weakness of unity. We can disagree professionally, and still remain collegial, and still be friends and can still work together.

We also need to be honest about the areas for improvement, and not pretend that everything is perfect, because we know it is not. And even if things are currently working well, there is always room to do better because that is what our competitors are doing. If we become complacent and stand still, they will overtake us. So we have to keep moving forward, and there are still many things we want to do and need to do.

Hence, I would like to propose to everyone, as a system, as a Public Service, we have to look for ways that we can empower our officers, across all roles and at all levels of seniority. So that our officers feel supported and comfortable enough to share your ideas on how the work can be better done, you can raise your concerns with established rules and SOPs that have become obsolete over time, and you can contribute meaningfully to the important task of keeping our rules and processes user-friendly, efficient and future-ready. I do not believe that these goals can be achieved by senior management alone, because senior management would not have the full knowledge and awareness of where all the areas of improvement are. Our frontline officers, our colleagues who are handling the work on a regular basis, you are the experts, you know where are the areas for improvement, and we can provide a top-down support for you to surface these ground-up ideas and initiatives, so that we are able to translate those ideas into implementation, into improvements. I think that will be something positive for the system as a whole.

These three qualities that I have highlighted are the foundations of an innovative and enterprising organisation.

Our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew captured this spirit aptly when he said, "This is not administration doing a job. This is entrepreneurship on a political stage, on a national scale."

As we navigate a more complex and uncertain environment, Singapore will increasingly need to chart our own course - to be a pathfinder rather than just a fast follower.

The Political Office Holders, Permanent Secretaries and CEs, we have an important duty to provide an enabling organisational environment and an empowering culture that encourage our people to exhibit these qualities. What some refer to as the "air cover", to give our officers top-down backing and support for their ground-up ideas and initiatives.

But this is not just the role of the Political Office Holders and public service leadership. It is the collective responsibility of all of us as public officers, when we signed up to serve our country and people with integrity, service and excellence.

Working with many different groups of public officers over the years, I am confident that our people, including our younger officers, have the courage and gumption to try new ideas, the ability to innovate and find creative solutions, and the determination and never-say-die attitude when confronted with adversity. Our officers want to be empowered and supported, so that they can make an impact in their work.

Importantly, we need to make these qualities part of our DNA in the public sector, so they become pervasive and an integral part of our decision-making, and guide how our agencies and our officers work with one another and also with external partners from the private and people sectors.

Closing

In closing, the projects I have highlighted this morning show the innovation and dedication that this community, our STE community, is able to do and deliver to resolve challenges on a national scale.

Harnessing technology is no longer a specialised skill reserved for officers with technical background. It is an essential capability for every public officer and for every public service leader.

I encourage everyone to be open and proactive about upgrading and upskilling ourselves, and to look for ways to apply science, technology and engineering to improve how we deliver our services, how we improve our planning, and how we achieve better outcomes for Singapore and Singaporeans.

My congratulations as well to the STE Excellence Award and STE Innovation Challenge awardees. Well done, and please keep up the good work.

I wish everyone a fruitful STE: Fest ahead. And if I may round up with a saying from Star Trek, which is one of my favourite shows, "To boldly go where no one has gone before".

Thank you.