Only 3% take-up rate for CIDB quality assessment system

Mustapha (left) and Judin having a chat after the signing of an MoU on Qlassic.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Quality Assessment System in Construction (Qlassic), which is expected to be compulsory for all development projects including residential and commercial projects in line with the 11th Malaysia Plan next year, had a take-up rate of only 3% last year.

Take-up rate is the percentage of development projects that have been assessed by CIDB Malaysia using the Qlassic method.

It is used as an oversight of the domestic construction sector to assess and evaluate the quality of workmanship of building projects based on industry standard.

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia chief executive Datuk Seri Dr Judin Abdul Karim said that the method was intended to raise the quality of development in Malaysia.

“To-date, a total of 1,000 housing projects by small and big developers have been assessed using the Qlassic method,” Judin said.

CIDB Malaysia’s technology division senior manager Sazali Che Amat said that last year 272 projects implemented the method out of 5,000 projects that were being developed, compared with 160 projects in 2013.

“This year we are expecting 300 projects to be evaluated,” Sazali added.

Judin noted that big developers were seeing the necessity to implement the system in projects.

“Big developers such as MK Land Holdings Bhd, Sime Darby Property Bhd, I&P Group Sdn Bhd and IJM Land are making it a practice to get their developments assessed for quality,” he said.

Yesterday, MK Land Holdings Bhd inked a memorandum of understanding with CIDB Holdings Sdn Bhd to use Qlassic in its housing project.

CIDB Holdings is a subsidiary of CIDB Malaysia.

MK Land executive chairman Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar said that to-date 13 projects developed by the group were using the system.

On another note, Mustapha said generally property prices were expected to increase slightly after the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

“Property prices may increase slightly by 2% to 3% after GST and would normalise when the market is ready for it,” he said.