Firms rush to rehouse workers in 2 Sembawang dorms before April closure

Bed crunch means many employers cannot find alternative accommodation for workers

- Wong Yang

Several firms are scrambling to find beds for hundreds of migrant workers at two Sembawang dormitories, which are set to shut in April to make way for the construction of a new housing estate.

The two dorms, Cochrane Lodge 1 and 2, have a combined capacity of 9,000 and are used by 390 employers to house their workers.

The demolition of both dorms is expected to begin in May, according to operator Vobis Enterprise. The land they occupy is being redeveloped for the new Sembawang North housing estate.

But a bed crunch at other dorms means many employers are unable to find alternative accommodation for their workers, even as the April 30 deadline draws near.

Three out of 10 employers that The Straits Times spoke to said they have not been able to do so.

The authorities had informed Vobis in early June 2024 that its tenancy for the Cochrane Lodge 1 and 2 site would not be extended beyond its current expiry date of June 29, 2025. But employers said Vobis told them about the dorms' closure only in January and February.

An employee from Maxcon Construction and Engineering, who said Vobis had told her firm in early February about the dorms' closure, added that she has been trying in vain for about a month to find another dorm to house its over 70 workers at Cochrane Lodge 2.

"We checked with about five dorms in the north, but they all said they were full. We are now searching for those farther away in Punggol, but two dorms there already told us they don't have any beds for our workers," said the employee, who added that Maxcon is on a waiting list for beds at Kranji Lodge 1, which Vobis also runs.

"We are running out of time, and it's getting more stressful by the day," she said.

Plans for the new Sembawang North housing area were announced in October 2024. The first Housing Board Build-To-Order project in the estate will be launched in 2025.