Speech | Welcome Address by REDAS President at REDAS Digital Future Symposium 2026 | 27 Aug 2026
DIGITAL FUTURE SYMPOSIUM 2026
27 AUGUST 2026, THURSDAY, 9:05AM
PARKROYAL COLLECTION MARINA BAY, GARDEN BALLROOM
WELCOME ADDRESS BY
MR TAN SWEE YIOW
PRESIDENT OF REDAS
Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development
and Information,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good morning and a warm welcome to the REDAS Digital Future Symposium 2026.
A special thanks to SMS Tan for joining us today as our Guest-of- Honour.
AI and the Future of Real Estate
Artificial intelligence or AI is developing at astonishing speed.
If you can recall, it took the internet over a decade to reach half the world.
Generative AI got there in three years, and Singapore adopted it faster
than most.
Its full impact on real estate is still unfolding.
What is becoming clear is that AI will affect our industry in ways that goes beyond productivity and automation.
It could influence what we build. New industries and ways of working is creating different demands for new and differentiated spaces.
It could change how we build. Through better design, planning, construction and project management.
And it is already beginning to change how we operate. How we use data, make decisions, manage assets and run our businesses.
Some of these changes will take years to fully understand and unfold,
And there are opportunities that we should act on today.
That is the focus of this year’s Digital Future Symposium.
New Tools for Familiar Challenges
The challenges we are trying to solve are not new.
We have always looked for better ways to plan projects, manage costs, improve safety and productivity, and make wise decisions
What is changing is the range of tools available and the speed at which they are advancing.
AI gives us new ways to approach these longstanding challenges.
The opportunity is to understand where it can make the greatest difference, and how we can put it to practical use.
This also means starting with the problem we want to solve, rather than the technology itself.
And that was the thinking behind REDAS’s inaugural Innovation Challenge.
Starting with the Problem
Project management bottlenecks. Cost pressures. Workflow inefficiencies.
These are the common issues we face.
This year, our members identified real industry pain points, and we brought in innovators to develop solutions around them.
Our judges have selected three finalists, whose solutions you will hear from today.
Many thanks to our judges from AWS, BCA, CHEC, IOI, PM Link, Realion, and Wing Tai for their time and expertise, and to Amazon Web Services for supporting our inaugural Challenge.
However, the final decision is not theirs alone. You have a say too.
You hold half the voting power in deciding our overall winner today, so vote wisely.
Learning and Moving Forward Together
The Innovation Challenge is one way REDAS is trying to bridge the gap between possibility and application.
Today’s symposium programme continues that conversation.
We will hear from technology leaders and industry practitioners on how AI and digital solutions are being applied across data, safety, procurement and project control.
There will not always be straightforward answers.
As an industry, we cannot wait until every answer is known before we
begin.
We need to experiment, learn from one another, and focus our efforts on areas where technology can deliver value.
REDAS will continue to play its part by creating platforms where our industry can learn together, test new ideas and connect with partners who can help turn those ideas into practical solutions.
Closing
I would like to thank our Guest-of-Honour, sponsors, speakers, and panellists for making today’s Symposium possible.
A special thanks to Isaac and our REDAS Seminar Committee for your leadership and hard work in putting this symposium together.
And to everyone here, I encourage you to ask questions and think about where these can make a difference in your work.
Thank you.
