KUALA LUMPUR: The Works Ministry (KKR) has set a target of 20 to 30 percent adoption of the Industrialised Building System (IBS), modular construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM) by 2030.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the target, outlined under the Modular Construction Roadmap 2026-2030, is crucial to meet the demands of public infrastructure development, particularly the construction of schools under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).
He said the initiative is a major step by the government towards faster, more efficient, sustainable and high-quality construction methods driven by indigenous technology.
“We want Malaysia’s construction industry to be more productive, innovative and globally competitive. Therefore, the ministry is putting a lot of emphasis on technology transfer and collaborations between global players and local companies,” he said.
He told reporters this after attending the International Construction Week (ICW) and BuildXpo Malaysia 2026, which gathered around 20,000 participants and over 200 international exhibitors at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) here today (Nov 11).
The event, officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, marks the 28th edition of ICW and the fourth consecutive year of collaboration between Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia and event manager Qube Integrated Malaysia in organising BuildXpo as its flagship exhibition component.
Also present were Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, CIDB Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Farrin Mokhtar and Chairman Qube Malaysia Tan Sri Ahmad Tajuddin Ali.
Elaborating on the industry’s performance, Nanta said the sector’s current four percent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) does not fully reflect the value chain of the entire ecosystem.
“The figure (four percent) is quite normal globally. However, the construction sector encompasses a wider scope as many building materials are classified under the manufacturing sector, (which is overseen by) another ministry.
“We cannot carry out construction without building materials, so the construction process and manufacturing complement each other,” he said.
On another development, Nanta acknowledged that the domestic construction sector is not immune to the impacts of current geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East, especially on logistics chains and fuel supply costs.
Meanwhile, addressing concerns from industry players regarding a potential disruption in the supply of Indonesian workers following recent negative sentiments, Nanta said the situation remained stable.
He stressed that the country’s construction sector had so far experienced no significant disruption to the entry of Indonesian workers.
“At this moment, it is perhaps a little bit too early, and we have not seen much interruption in that.
“Hopefully, things are quite normal. We will just wait and see exactly what decisions are made by the Indonesian government,” he said adding that Putrajaya is monitoring Jakarta’s official policies seeking to ensure an uninterrupted supply of workers.
Held in line with the Malaysia MADANI framework, the ICW 2026 features BuildXPO Malaysia as its official trade exhibition and is co-located with Glasstech Asia and Fenestration Asia. – BERNAMA
