By Jose Barrock
Matthew Tee Kai Woon
Master Builders Association of Malaysia (MBAM) president Mathew Tee Kai Woon hopes for the speedy implementation of construction projects by the government, to ensure that the 11 percent growth target set this year for the construction industry is achieved.
Tee explained that this strong 11 percent growth target was set for the construction industry by the federal Government, based on statistics during the Budget last year.
“It’s actually boom time for our industry now; there are a lot of projects all at various stages of implementation… so we hope for the projects to hit the ground quickly, we hope that there is speedy implementation after the planning stage of the projects,” he said.
The need for faster implementation of projects is not exactly a new problem. Industry players said that there were instances when the implementation of a project only took place a few years after it was announced.
For instance the RM2.2 billion Kinrara Damansara Expressway (Kidex) was announced in 2011, but has yet to be awarded. Likewise the West Coast Expressway was only approved last year after it was mooted in 2008.
Permodalan Nasional Bhd or PNB’s 118-storey RM5 billion Warisan Tower was first mooted some three years ago, but there has yet to be any awards or tenders even.
The development of the former site of the Pudu Jail, to be known as the Bukit Bintang City centre has yet to take off under UDA Holdings Bhd. The last report in 2011 had it that UDA was developing a master plan.
1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)’s Bandar Malaysia only recently awarded RM2.1 billion worth of jobs to develop eight sites in the area to Perbadanan Perwira Harta Malaysia. 1MDB and the Economic Planning Unit had signed agreements to develop the land on June 15 2011.
“These are just some of the delayed developments that come to mind,” an industry player said.
If some of these projects came on stream, the industry would likely get a shot in the arm.
In contrast to the 11 percent growth forecasted this year, in 2012, the construction industry grew 18.5 percent. In its quarterly bulletin for the year ended December 2012, Bank Negara attributed the 18.5 percent growth to, “The strong performance in the civil engineering sub-sector….mainly driven by the progress in the MRT project, in addition to other infrastructure and oil and gas projects such as the Second Penang Bridge, Janamanjung Power Plant and Kebabangan Gas Field.”
Tee explains that although 2012 was a stellar year, the current year could pan out to be just as good.
“It’s still very good for us, you must understand it’s not like there is a slowdown— In 2012 the 18 percent growth came from a low base in 2011…so we are actually doing well,” Tee explained.
In 2011 the construction industry grew by a meagre 4.6 percent, Central Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia data indicates, dragged down by a damp 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter of 2011.
Data for the first quarter of 2013 has yet to be published.
However industry players say that with elections around the corner, many jobs have been put on hold, or nudged forward to be awarded after the elections.
Tee said that the recent dissolution of parliament is good as there is certainty on the elections being held soon. He forecasts buyers and investors who have been holding back for some time now, coming back with a bang.
“Once elections are concluded, the investors and buyers are likely to throng back to the market, snapping up assets again…it’s just uncertainty, the wait and see attitude,” Tee added.
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