Minister: IBS to be compulsory for construction projects in 2018

KUALA LUMPUR (March 20): Works minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said the government intends to make the adoption of industrialised building systems (IBS) in construction projects compulsory in 2018.

At Parliament today, Fadillah said the government has discussed with various stakeholders of the construction industry, and has committed to greater adoption of IBS going forward.

"We intend to make the usage of IBS compulsory in 2018, with the assistance of local authorities, so that any proposed plans will use IBS in its construction.

"We hope to see bigger adoption of IBS, which will translate to lower costs and lower dependence on unskilled foreign workers," he said.

The government, through Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), has had consultation sessions with the various stakeholders, in line with the five-year Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP) launched in 2016.

"As a result of the discussions, stakeholders of the construction industry have agreed in principle to use IBS in their projects starting next year. This means that the IBS score will be one of the conditions to be satisfied before the granting of development orders by local authorities," he said, but did not elaborate.

As at May 2016, Fadillah said about 69% of government projects used IBS, while the adoption rate by the private sector is still low at around 14%, according to CIDB's study in 2014.

"One of the main components of the CITP is productivity, which will be driven by the adoption of new technologies, not only IBS but also BIM (building information modelling) so we can reduce waste and improve productivity," said Fadillah.

Bernama also reported that Fadillah said a total of 39,271 IBS component installation contractors have been trained as of December last year.

Fadillah said in the same period, a total of 1,809 professionals comprising engineers, architects and surveyors had been trained, while 8,170 IBS contractors were registered with the CIDB. — theedgemarkets.com

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