Development minister Bernadette Linn on Wednesday said technology will play a role in helping the government to screen contractors.

Under the enhanced version of the Urban Renewal Authority's (URA) "Smart Tender" platform to prevent bid-rigging, authorities will review the backgrounds of consultants and contractors before including them on the vetted list.

Law enforcement agencies will help search for criminal records, instead of having contractors to self-declare any relevant information in the past.

Speaking on a Metro Radio programme, she noted that big-data tools will map the complex relationships between companies and individuals to detect potential bid-rigging.

"While our law enforcement agencies will look into the relationships between each contractors, their executives as well as authorised signatories to see how many companies they hold stake in, big data can at least help carry out the first tier of analysis and boost our efficiency," she said.

The government, Linn added, will also help collect and update the data of contractors for the URA to conducts checks on the firms and executives.

As the URA will offer advice to homeowners on tendering and carrying out bid evaluations, the minister added the government is considering the need to establish potential new laws and regulations to support the URA in case of any disarrangement.