Singapore already has more than 20 robotics and automation solutions ready for construction sites. A new leasing scheme announced in September is designed to get them off the demonstration floor and onto ordinary projects by taking the ownership risk away from builders.
Singapore has spent years proving that construction robots can work. Its next move is about making them cheap and easy enough to become normal.
On 2 September 2026, at the closing of the Construction Technology Summit during International Built Environment Week, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and National Development Alvin Tan unveiled a package of initiatives aimed at lifting productivity across the built environment. For site operations, the centrepiece is a new scheme to support robot leasing.
Singapore’s new leasing scheme targets the cost of ownership
The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said it will launch a Robot Leasing Support Scheme to fund solution providers to lease proven robotics and automation solutions to built environment firms. The scheme will provide funding of up to 50% for each robot, drawn from a S$100 million transformation grant BCA announced in March 2025.
The detail that matters is who receives the money. The funding goes to the suppliers that lease out the robots, not directly to builders. BCA named concrete levelling and tile grouting robots as examples of the solutions it expects the scheme to cover.
BCA has not yet published eligibility rules, a start date or any cap per robot. Those details will decide how far the scheme actually moves the market.
Leasing solves a real problem. Buying a robot means carrying the capital cost, the maintenance and the risk that it sits idle between projects. Leasing shifts much of that onto the supplier, who can spread one machine across several jobs and several contractors. For a builder, a large upfront purchase becomes a project cost.
Robot Leasing Support Scheme
Announced in Singapore on 2 September 2026, the Robot Leasing Support Scheme will provide up to 50% funding for each robot to solution providers that lease proven robotics and automation equipment to built environment firms. Examples named by the Building and Construction Authority include concrete levelling and tile grouting robots. Eligibility rules and a start date had not been published at the time of writing.
More than 20 robotic solutions are ready for site
BCA says there are now more than 20 ready to deploy robotics and automation solutions in Singapore, covering structural, architectural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades. Its robotics and automation program lists more than 50 projects deployed and 40 early adopters.
The list is practical rather than futuristic. Civil and structural solutions include welding, rebar tying, concrete finishing and road marking. Architectural solutions cover wall skimming, painting, floor tiling, tile grouting, floor grinding, floor coating, floor marking and ALC panel installation. Services work includes drilling and anchoring, and there are material transporters and smart hoists for moving people and materials around site.
Most of these are tasks that are repetitive, physically demanding and hard to staff consistently. That is exactly where a robot earns its place.
A tile grouting robot with up to twice the productivity
BCA highlighted a floor tile grouting robot developed by Fabrica AI as an example of how quickly these tools can improve. According to BCA, Version 5 of the robot delivers up to twice the productivity of Version 4, with better reliability and ease of use.
Fabrica AI worked with contractor Woh Hup, which is also an investor in the company, and the technology has already been deployed on projects including One Holland Village.
That relationship matters. When a contractor has a stake in the technology, the robot gets tested on real sites against real programs, and the feedback loop between site and developer gets much shorter.
Singapore already funds robot purchases for smaller firms
The leasing scheme sits alongside existing support. Under BCA’s Built Environment Productivity Solutions Grant, which runs from April 2026 to March 2031, local small and medium firms can receive support of up to 50% of qualifying costs for robotics and automation equipment, capped at S$300,000 per firm over five years.
Eligible examples include wall finishing robots, material transporters, tile grouting robots and concrete finishing robots. Firms apply through the government Business Grants Portal, and the application has to be lodged before any contract is signed or payment made.
When it announced the enhanced grant in January, BCA said the equipment supported would be capable of achieving up to 50% manpower savings for each construction trade activity.
The push is about getting from pilot to everyday use
Singapore’s broader strategy is built around moving technology out of trials. BCA’s Built Environment Accelerate to Market Programme, established in 2019, has introduced more than 100 challenge statements and brought together about 80 built environment firms and innovators. The government said on 2 September that it will explore another run of the program to take solutions from joint development and pilot testing through to market trials and commercial deployment.
The economic backdrop helps. BCA projected in January that construction demand in 2026 would be between S$47 billion and S$53 billion, with average annual demand of S$39 billion to S$46 billion from 2027 to 2030. A steady pipeline gives suppliers and contractors more confidence that a robot bought or leased today will have work tomorrow.
Labour is the other driver. The Ministry of Manpower reported 490,700 Work Permit holders across the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors in June 2026, up from 482,600 in December 2025. The pressure is not unique to Singapore either. Japan’s ageing construction workforce is pushing its industry toward the same kinds of tools.
The real test is whether robots become ordinary
Singapore’s approach is not about putting a robot on site to see what happens. It is a deliberate chain: fund development, prove the robot on live projects, help firms buy it, and now help suppliers lease it. It is one of the most organised versions of the wider shift toward robots on the tools and homes in the factory.
The interesting question is no longer whether robots can do construction tasks. It is whether they can become cheap and reliable enough to be ordinary.
The interesting question is no longer whether robots can do construction tasks. It is whether they can become cheap and reliable enough to be ordinary.
Leasing is a smart answer to that question because it changes who carries the risk. A builder does not need to believe a robot will pay for itself over five years. It only needs to believe the robot will pay for itself on this job.
THE GOOD BUILDER TAKE
Most construction technology dies in the gap between a successful pilot and a second order. Singapore has noticed. Rather than funding more demonstrations, it is paying to take the ownership risk off contractors, so the decision to use a robot looks like any other plant hire decision. That is a far more realistic path to adoption than asking a builder to buy a machine and hope the pipeline holds.
Frequently asked questions
It is a scheme announced on 2 September 2026 that will provide up to 50% funding for each robot to solution providers that lease proven construction robots to built environment firms. Eligibility rules and a start date had not been published at the time of writing.
The Building and Construction Authority says there are more than 20 ready to deploy robotics and automation solutions across structural, architectural and mechanical, electrical and plumbing trades, with more than 50 projects deployed.
Under the Built Environment Productivity Solutions Grant, running from April 2026 to March 2031, local small and medium firms can receive up to 50% of qualifying costs for robotics and automation equipment, capped at S$300,000 per firm over five years.
It is a Singapore program established in 2019 that matches industry challenges with innovators. It has introduced more than 100 challenge statements and involved about 80 built environment firms and innovators.
Related articles
- Robots on the Tools, Homes in the Factory: The Construction Revolution the World Is Already Running
- Japan’s Construction Time Bomb: Who Builds a Country When the Builders Are Too Old?
- Canada Is About to Find Out Whether a Government Can Order Its Way to a Modular Industry
Last updated 2 October 2026. Figures reflect the latest official releases available at that date.
General Information Only: This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, financial, tax or professional advice. It does not take into account your particular circumstances. Figures and policy details are drawn from official sources current at the date of publication and may change. You should seek independent professional advice before acting on any information in this article.
0 Comments