I refer to the article “Evaluation of government construction tenders to give safety more weight” (Feb 2).

I think a budget for safety requirements is one main issue not addressed in tenders. For the contractor to address safety issues adequately, a budget must be allowed for in the tender.

Money must be spent to educate the staff, employ additional supervisors to oversee only safety issues, buy safety equipment, and also to erect safety barricades.

To win a contract, a hard-up contractor may not price in the cost of safety requirements in his tender. Therefore, I would suggest that, for a start, the Government should take the lead in introducing an item in the preliminaries of the tender to include a sum for safety requirements.

This can be a mandatory percentage of the tender price subject to a minimum and maximum sum. An audit should be carried out to ensure that this sum is properly spent on safety enhancement at the work site.

Tay Chan Kok