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Mere days after starting at Singapore’s Wee Hur Construction as an assistant project manager in 2006, Andy Lu was assigned to one of the company’s most important projects at the time: the Courts Megastore at Tampines.
Pulling him aside, the senior project manager shared a few words that would shape the course of his career with the company.
“He said that people are recognized and rewarded in the company based on hard work and merit and that we don’t practice politics in the workplace,” Lu recalls.
“It was something that struck me at the time, and it’s still something that I believe in and the company believes in today.”
That first project was a baptism by fire, a fast-track project that meant working long hours and weekends. But it gave Lu, who holds a Bachelor of Science (Civil Engineering) degree from Purdue University in the United States, an early insight into the culture of Wee Hur Construction.
“People really worked together as a team, caring and encouraging one another,” he says.
It’s one of the reasons he’s still with the company – and his hard work was recognized with his appointment as CEO.
Another reason is Wee Hur Construction’s commitment to its company motto, which translates into English from Mandarin as “Prudence in our ways. Excellence is our aim.”
The company’s mission remains unchanged since its establishment in 1980 by four members of the Goh family and two of their brothers-in-law.
“Achieving excellence and doing a good job in ensuring the best quality and safety in our work is something that we always believe in, as is being diligent and careful,” Lu says.
Back in 2006, the company was involved in smaller-scale projects, up to around US$30 million in value. It has kept pace with the evolution of the construction industry, and today’s projects are infinitely more complex, generally building projects valued at up to US$200 million.
Showcase works include factories such as the Mapletree Pioneer Logistics Hub, public utilities like the Singapore Water Exchange at Toh Guan, residential projects such as Trilight Condominium and public projects like Ministry of Health nursing homes.
Of course, that growth story has come with its share of setbacks out of its control, none more so than the COVID-19 pandemic. As the industry began to restart in Singapore after a series of lockdowns, Wee Hur Construction, like others in the industry, was unable to bring its overseas-born employees back to Singapore. On top of that, there was a shortage of materials.
Suddenly, rather than being in a position of power, those who held the most contracts were actually facing the biggest losses. Those who had diversified, like Wee Hur, had other revenue streams – and the upper hand.
“In 2009, the year after we went public in 2008, we ventured into property development,” Lu explains.
Not only was this another revenue stream for the company, but it also created a project stream for its construction business. Then, in 2013, Wee Hur Construction ventured into the workers’ dormitory space.
The blend of private and public projects it had fostered meant that during the pandemic, it was able to lean into government support at a time when private developers were more hesitant to spend.
All its pre-COVID projects transpired as loss-making projects, although Lu is thankful that they are now all completed. Looking forward, he’s still just as enthusiastic about the opportunities presented by the public sector, particularly the Housing & Development Board (HDB) projects currently on the horizon.
“The HDB is pushing out a lot of projects because there is a shortage of available public housing,” he explains. “In the next year or two, we see that there will be a lot of HDB projects rolled out, and this is an area where we are trying to secure new projects.”
In fact, in May 2025, it was announced that Wee Hur Construction had been awarded two new HDB projects with a combined value of US$343 million.
Another market full of potential is the health-related projects that will need to be realized as Singapore’s population ages, such as clinics, nursing homes and integrated healthcare buildings.
With public sector tenders full of strict requirements, Lu knows that Wee Hur Construction’s strong safety and quality mission will hold it in good stead.
Yet he is also careful not to overlook the opportunities in the private sector and the projects it can undertake wearing the property developer hat, including a new condominium project at Jalan Bunga Rampai and a workers’ dormitory for 10,500 workers on Soon Lee Road.
As always, the company’s network of subcontractors and partners, including K&J Engineering, Pro-Werkze, Keller Foundations and Leng Aik Engineering, will continue to play an essential role as Wee Hur Construction shapes the skyline of Singapore and beyond.
Another core leadership priority is harnessing the best of technology, not only to overcome talent shortages and ensure best safety practices, but also to ensure the company is hitting its sustainability goals.
“Construction is a big contributor to carbon emissions, and it certainly isn’t easy to be sustainable when undertaking construction work,” Lu points out. “So every single thing counts.”
The company is ISO certified for environmental management, quality and occupational health and safety and is investigating adding energy and water management certification to the list. It is also certified ‘Excellent’ by Singapore’s Green and Gracious Builder Scheme.
“Sustainability is here to stay, particularly for construction,” Lu reflects. “It’s one area that we will continue to focus on and improve in the coming years.”
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