Launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in September 2015, the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) is being spearheaded by the Works Ministry and the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB).
It involves four strategic thrusts that address the challenges and issues faced by the Malaysian construction industry. Over 2016 to 2020, they also act as catalysts for the transformation of the industry into a modern, highly productive and sustainable one that enjoys continued growth and enables Malaysian companies to compete with international players, domestically and abroad.
The four thrusts – Quality, safety and professionalism; Environmental sustainability; Productivity; and Internationalisation – will transform the construction industry with 21 initiatives.
We discussed the first two thrusts last week, and here, we talk about the other two: Productivity and Internationalisation.
There is a strong correlation between the construction sector and the country’s economic development as construction contributes significantly to the nation’s gross domestic product. The sector is even more critical today as demand for major infrastructure projects increase — more and better roads for Sabah and Sarawak as well as more efficient urban transport.
The construction industry is one of the key sectors under the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016 to 2020), which is the final leg of the Vision 2020 journey. Under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011 to 2015), the sector has seen astounding growth, surpassing that of other economic sectors.
As part of the 11MP, the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) was launched in 2015 to create construction players that are sustainable at home and able to compete in the international arena.
Several successes have been achieved across the four strategic thrusts that had contributed to the CITP achieving an overall progress of 96.5% for the key performance indicators (KPI) set for January 2016 to June 2017, according to CIDB chief executive Datuk Ahmad ‘Asri Abdul Hamid.
The Productivity strategic thrust has since achieved a 96% thrust KPI progress. It has two main components, namely Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Industrialised Building Systems (IBS).
“Productivity in the construction industry is of course a primary engine of growth, especially as it forms the backbone of the country’s economy in achieving Malaysia’s high-income target,” Ahmad ‘Asri explains.
One of the key achievements under this strategic thrust is the establishment of myBIM Centre located at Sunway Putra Tower, Kuala Lumpur, which was launched by the Minister of Works. myBIM Centre is a one-stop-centre for BIM personnel to use resources such as BIM hardware and software on a pay-per-use basis. The centre is also equipped with BIM training facilities and has been used to train about 800 BIM personnel as at June 2017.
For IBS, Ahmad ‘Asri adds that one of the major achievements is the approval of Majlis Negara Kerajaan Tempatan (MNKT) to make it mandatory for all private sector projects with a minimum value of RM50 million to use the the IBS construction method and receive at least a 50 IBS score by 2020.
“CIDB has been tasked to carry out engagement sessions with regards to making IBS implementation mandatory. So far, the industry players have been very supportive towards this target,” he says.
The final strategic thrust — Internationalisation — has seen a 99% thrust KPI progress. Some 79 projects worth RM2.7 billion have been won by Malaysian companies in countries including Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Laos — exceeding the board’s initial KPI of RM2 billion.
Ahmad ‘Asri also notes that the board is at 85% completion in the Study on Strengthening Access to Financing for Malaysian Champions Abroad — findings which have led to the recommendation of five financing products.
“With these achievements, we are confident that we can achieve our goal of Malaysian construction industry players gaining prominence as leaders in the international platform, as well as significantly elevate their position on the domestic front,” he says.
He also recognises that the next two years are critical as the country is entering the last leg to 2020, which is set to transform the Malaysia economy into a knowledge-based and high-income economy.
“The demand for construction in Malaysia is expected to grow further as our economy continues to expand, evident in the 11MP that estimates the construction industry to grow by 10.3% per year. Here at CIDB, we will be strengthening our initiatives to achieve the goals as outlined in the CITP.”
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