In Singapore, construction activities are categorised into two main sectors — building works and civil engineering works. Building works are further sub-categorised by the development type, which includes residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional and others. On the other hand, civil engineering works typically relate to infrastructure projects, including construction of the MRT network, airports, roads and bridges.

Subcontracting is a prevalent practice in the construction industry in Singapore, whereby it is common for main contractors to subcontract different parts of the construction work for each project to a wide range of specialised contractors. Due to the large number of subcontractors in Singapore, specialising in various segments of the design and construction work, there is intense competition for construction works at the lower end of the value chain, especially for general construction works.